Course Genie
Health and Safety

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

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Pick a date that suits your team

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) is run on demand — tell us when you'd like to attend and where, and we'll arrange a date and venue that works for you. Single delegates and group bookings both welcome.

UK-wide venues + online Group discounts available

Overview

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, universally known as COSHH, govern how workplaces handle everything from cement dust and solvents to cleaning chemicals, fumes and biological agents. The regulations require employers to assess and control exposure, and to give employees suitable information and training. This course delivers that training, for the people who work with substances and for those who write and use COSHH assessments.

The course explains how hazardous substances actually harm, through inhalation, skin contact, ingestion and injection, and what the warning symbols and safety data sheets really say. It then works through the control framework: the COSHH assessment, the hierarchy of control from elimination and substitution through engineering controls and ventilation to PPE as the last resort, exposure limits, health surveillance and emergency procedures. Construction examples get particular attention, from silica dust to cement burns, alongside workshop, cleaning and industrial substances.

COSHH sits within the wider assessment discipline taught on the Introduction to Risk Assessment course, and dust-adjacent hazards have their own courses: asbestos awareness and noise awareness. Browse the set under health and safety training.

Who this course is for

  • Anyone who works with chemicals, dusts, fumes or cleaning products
  • Construction operatives exposed to silica, cement and solvents
  • Workshop, production and cleaning staff
  • Supervisors and managers who write or apply COSHH assessments
  • Employers meeting the COSHH information and training duty

Requirements

  • No formal entry requirements
  • A reasonable level of spoken and written English
  • For online delivery, a reliable connection and a quiet space

What you'll achieve

  • A COSHH training certificate for your records
  • The ability to read safety data sheets and hazard symbols properly
  • Understanding of exposure routes and health effects
  • Working knowledge of the hierarchy of control
  • The basis to contribute to or apply COSHH assessments

Syllabus

What COSHH covers
Chemicals, dusts, fumes, mists and biological agents.
How substances harm
Inhalation, skin, ingestion and acute versus chronic effects.
Labels and data sheets
Hazard symbols and reading an SDS properly.
COSHH assessment
Assessing exposure and documenting controls.
Hierarchy of control
Elimination to PPE, and why PPE comes last.
Monitoring and health
Exposure limits, surveillance and emergencies.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) FAQs

Yes. Regulation 12 of COSHH requires employers to provide suitable information, instruction and training for employees exposed to hazardous substances. This course is the standard way to meet it.
Yes, and in construction dust is the headline risk: silica dust from cutting and grinding is a major cause of occupational lung disease. Asbestos has its own regulations and its own <a href="/courses/asbestos-awareness/">awareness course</a>.
Typically a half-day session. In-company delivery can be built around the substances and data sheets your people actually use.
Someone competent: trained in COSHH and familiar with the work. This course gives supervisors and managers the foundation; complex processes may also need occupational hygiene input.
Refresh when substances, processes or controls change, and periodically as part of your training cycle. Many employers refresh every two to three years.
Prices for COSHH training vary by location, group size and whether you book a public date or an in-company course. Where live dates are shown at the top of this page, the price against each date is the full cost of a place. Otherwise send an enquiry from this page and we will come back within one working day with options and pricing.
Yes. COSHH training is often delivered to whole teams at once, and in-company delivery is usually the most cost-effective way to train several people. Request a quote through our <a href="/for-employers/">employer booking page</a>, with purchase order support included.
The course runs on demand as well as on any public dates shown at the top of this page. Send an enquiry with your preferred timing and location and we will confirm available options within one working day.

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