COSHH is practical risk management, not just paperwork. For dust, it requires you to assess risks, implement effective controls, maintain them, and protect people with training, monitoring, and health surveillance where needed. Done well, it improves productivity and keeps work compliant with HSE expectations.

Know your dust and exposure

• Identify substances and tasks creating dust (e.g., silica, wood, flour, composite boards). Use SDS, supplier info, and prior site data.
• Compare to relevant WELs in EH40. RCS has a WEL of 0.1 mg/m³ (8-hr TWA). Keep the numbers simple for supervisors.
• Decide what to measure and when: personal sampling for high-risk tasks; real-time PM logging to verify controls day to day.

Choose controls that follow the hierarchy

• Eliminate/substitute: pre-cut off-site, use ready-mix, or low-dust materials where practicable.
• Engineering: on-tool extraction with the right shroud; M-class minimum for wood/silica; H-class for high-hazard dusts; LEV for fixed plant.
• Airborne control: air scrubbers or negative air units with high-efficiency filtration (H13/H14 for fine respirable dusts). Portable units from brands such as MAXVAC can integrate into temporary works.
• Administrative: job rotation, clean zones, task sequencing, and method statements that specify flow checks under load.
• RPE: last line of defence—FFP3 or P3 filters with face-fit testing and maintenance.

Maintain and check effectiveness

• Pre-use checks: shrouds intact, hoses sealed, filters seated, and vacuums achieving required airflow under load.
• Planned maintenance: filter change logs, differential pressure trends, and spares availability.
• LEV thorough examination and test at least every 14 months, plus routine on-site checks.
• Monitoring: periodic personal sampling and spot checks with a particulate monitor to verify day-to-day control.

Health surveillance, information, and training

• Provide health surveillance where there is a risk of asthma (wood dust, flour) or silicosis (RCS), as advised by an occupational health professional.
• Train operatives and supervisors on dust risks, control setup, and housekeeping (no dry sweeping).
• Keep records: assessments, maintenance, monitoring, RPE fit tests, and health surveillance outcomes (in confidence).

Practical takeaways

• Write COSHH assessments that specify controls in plain, actionable terms.
• Verify controls with monitoring and maintenance—do not rely on assumptions.
• Close the loop with training, supervision, and records that prove ongoing control.

COSHH compliance is achieved by routine: plan the controls, make them easy to use, check them often, and document what you do.