COSHH Regulations 2002 — Controlling Exposure to Hazardous Substances

COSHH Regulations 2002 — controlling exposure to hazardous substances

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) are the primary UK legislative framework governing how employers must protect workers and others from exposure to hazardous substances. COSHH covers dusts, gases, fumes, vapours, mists, biological agents and cleaning chemicals — making it directly relevant across the full range of industries V-TUF supplies.

For dust extraction and pressure washing equipment buyers, COSHH determines which class of extraction equipment is legally required for a given task, how that equipment must be maintained and tested, and which site practices — dry sweeping, compressed air — are prohibited by law.

What COSHH requires

Regulation 7 — Prevention or control of exposure: employers must prevent exposure to hazardous substances wherever reasonably practicable. Where RPE forms part of the control plan, each individual wearer must be face-fit tested — this is a legal requirement, not a recommendation.
Regulation 9 — Maintenance, examination and test of control measures: LEV equipment must be examined and tested at least every 14 months. Results must be kept for at least 5 years. If an LEV system fails examination, work that generates the controlled dust must stop until repaired and re-examined.
Regulation 10 — Monitoring exposure: employers must monitor workers' exposure and keep records for at least 5 years (or 40 years for biological agents).
Regulation 11 — Health surveillance: required where workers are exposed to substances that cause occupational diseases.

What COSHH prohibits — dry sweeping and compressed air

Dry sweeping re-suspends settled hazardous dust. Compressed air blowing disperses settled hazardous dust into the air at high concentration. Both are prohibited where COSHH-controlled dusts are present. The correct alternative is an H-Class vacuum cleaner.

Wet cutting produces silica-laden slurry — when dried, it returns to respirable dust. Slurry must be removed before it dries and must never be dry-swept once dried.

The L, M, H dust classification system

L-Class (Low hazard): OEL above 1 mg/m³. General building debris. Filtration to 99% at 1 micron.
M-Class (Medium hazard): OEL at or above 0.1 mg/m³ — construction dust, wood dust, MDF. Filtration to 99.9% at 0.5 microns. Minimum class for most construction and refurbishment work.
H-Class (High hazard): carcinogenic, mutagenic or highly hazardous dusts — RCS, hardwood dust, asbestos, biological agents. Filtration to 99.995% at 0.3 microns.

M-Class or H-Class building material guide →

COSHH and cleaning chemicals

COSHH governs the use of cleaning chemicals — biocides, degreasers, detergents and specialised cleaning solutions. The COSHH assessment must cover the specific chemical being used and the exposure route — not the product's marketing label.

Biocidal products cannot legally be labelled as 'safe' or 'non-toxic' under GB CLP Regulations. From 15 August 2026 updated GB CLP classifications come into force. Further reading: Biocide labelling compliance — why non-toxic claims are non-compliant (in effect August 2026) →

Recommended V-TUF extraction equipment for COSHH compliance

M-Class — concrete cutting, grinding and construction dust

H-Class — silica, asbestos, engineered stone and carcinogenic dust

V-TUF GRINDEX1100LPS — 25L H-Class, 110V and 240V

View GRINDEX1100LPS 240V → View GRINDEX1100LPS 110V →

V-TUF GRINDEX1200LPS — H-Class twin-motor, 110V and 240V

View GRINDEX1200LPS 240V → View GRINDEX1200LPS 110V →

V-TUF GRINDEX1300LPS — H-Class three-motor 3300W, 110V and 240V

View GRINDEX1300LPS 240V → View GRINDEX1300LPS 110V →

V-TUF MIDI HSV — H-Class, 21L

View MIDI HSV →

Silica — the full control picture

COSHH requires a combination of controls — on-tool extraction, water suppression, and H-Class slurry clean-up. Dry sweeping and compressed air are prohibited.

RCS and silica dust — the complete COSHH control guide →