Bleach used for cleaning toilets and washrooms
Thick bleach is sodium hypochlorite at around 5 per cent. It is corrosive to eyes and skin, and it gives off chlorine gas if it meets an acid such as a descaler or toilet cleaner. This example covers a cleaner using it in washrooms at the end of the day. Draft, not yet reviewed.
Why these controls
The two controls that matter most are keeping bleach away from acidic products, and never decanting it into unlabelled bottles. Most bleach incidents in cleaning are one of those two things.
Gloves and goggles are listed as PPE, which is the last step in the hierarchy. They are needed because the task involves pouring neat bleach, but the earlier controls, such as using a ready diluted product or a dosing pump, remove more of the risk.
The residual rating is low because the quantity is small and the task is short. A cleaner using a pressure sprayer with diluted bleach in an enclosed shower room would need a different assessment with ventilation and RPE considered.
COSHH assessment
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, regulation 6
| Company or site | Brightside Cleaning Services Ltd |
|---|---|
| Location | Staff and customer washrooms |
| Assessor | Karen Doyle, Cleaning Supervisor |
| Reviewed by | Karen Doyle, Cleaning Supervisor |
| Approved by | — |
1. Substance
| Name | Sodium hypochlorite (bleach, hypochlorite solution, chlorine bleach) |
|---|---|
| CAS number | 7681-52-9 |
| Supplier | — |
| Quantity held on site | — |
| Physical form | liquid |
| Safety data sheet | Not attached. Obtain the current sheet from the supplier and keep it with this assessment. |
| Signal word | DANGER |
| Pictograms |   Corrosive, Hazardous to the environment |
2. Hazards
- Skin corrosion, category 1B
- Serious eye damage, category 1
- Corrosive to metals, category 1
- Hazardous to the aquatic environment, acute category 1
- Hazardous to the aquatic environment, chronic category 1
- H290 May be corrosive to metals.
- H314 Causes severe skin burns and eye damage.
- H318 Causes serious eye damage.
- H400 Very toxic to aquatic life.
- H410 Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
- EUH031 Contact with acids liberates toxic gas.
Health effects on the day
- Chemical burns to skin and eyes on contact; damage can be permanent
- Serious eye damage from a splash; can cause lasting loss of sight
- Corrodes metal containers, fittings and surfaces
- Very toxic to fish and water life if it reaches a drain or watercourse
Health effects over time
- Long lasting harm to water life if it reaches a drain or watercourse
| Routes of exposure | skin, eyes, inhalation, ingestion |
|---|---|
| Workplace exposure limit | No WEL recorded in this library entry. Check SDS section 8 and EH40; exposure must still be controlled. |
3. How the substance is used
| Task | Cleaning toilets, urinals and washroom floors with thick bleach at the end of the day |
|---|---|
| Who is exposed | One cleaner. No other staff or public present during cleaning. Employees |
| At particular risk | People with existing skin conditions |
| Frequency | Daily |
| Quantity used | About 100 ml of neat bleach per washroom, poured from a 750 ml bottle |
| Duration | 15 to 20 minutes per washroom |
| Ventilation | Good, windows or mechanical ventilation |
| Spray, heat or mist | No |
| Storage | Locked cleaning cupboard, original bottles, on a low shelf away from descaler and toilet cleaner |
| Store away from | Acids, descaler, toilet cleaner, ammonia |
4. Risk rating
| Before controls | Medium, 12 out of 25 (likelihood 3 × severity 4) |
|---|---|
| With controls in place | Low, 4 out of 25 (likelihood 1 × severity 4) |
5. Control measures in place
Substitution
- We use the lowest hazard product that does the job. The supplier has confirmed there is no safer alternative, or we have already switched to one, for example a lower concentration or a water based product.
Engineering controls
- Eyewash and running water are within reach. An eyewash station or bottles, and a sink with running water, are close to where it is used and staff know where they are.
Working practices
- Staff are trained on this assessment and the safe method. Everyone who uses it has been told the hazards, the safe way to use it, the controls and what to do if something goes wrong. Training is recorded. Required by COSHH regulation 12.
- The safety data sheet is available to staff. The current data sheet is kept where staff and first aiders can find it, and is checked when the product or supplier changes.
- It is stored safely. Original labelled containers, closed, upright, in a cool ventilated place away from incompatible substances, food and public access.
- It is diluted as the label says and never mixed with other products. Dilution follows the label. Products are used one at a time. Every decanted container is labelled with the product name and hazard.
- It is kept apart from acids and other cleaners. Stored and used separately from acidic products such as descalers and toilet cleaners, because mixing releases toxic gas.
- Staff wash their hands after use and do not eat or drink where it is used. Hands are washed after handling and before eating, drinking or smoking. Contaminated clothing is removed.
- There is a spill kit and a written spill procedure. Staff know how to deal with a spill, a kit is available, and waste goes out as hazardous waste through a licensed carrier.
Personal protective equipment
- Staff wear chemical resistant gloves. Of the material and breakthrough time given in section 8 of the data sheet, replaced when damaged or contaminated.
- Staff wear eye protection. Goggles to EN 166 where there is a risk of splashing. Safety glasses are not relied on for corrosive liquids.
6. Decisions
| Substitution considered | Considered. A chlorine free sanitiser is used where disinfection is not needed; bleach is kept for toilets and drains where nothing weaker works. |
|---|---|
| Exposure adequately controlled | Yes. Small quantity, short task, washroom door open, gloves and goggles worn. |
| Health surveillance | Not required. Not a sensitiser. Cleaners are asked to report any skin problems. |
| Exposure monitoring | Not required. No exposure limit for hypochlorite; chlorine release is prevented by keeping it away from acids. |
7. Further action required
- Fit a pump dispenser to the bleach so cleaners stop pouring neat product. Owner: cleaning supervisor. By end of month.
8. First aid, spillage and disposal
Skin: remove contaminated clothing and rinse with plenty of water. Eyes: rinse for at least 15 minutes and get medical attention. Swallowed: rinse mouth, do not induce vomiting, call NHS 111. In an emergency call 999. For advice call NHS 111.
| Spillage | Small spills mopped with plenty of water. Larger spills contained with the spill kit and the area ventilated. Supervisor told. |
|---|---|
| Disposal | Diluted residue to drain with plenty of water. Empty bottles rinsed and recycled. Unused concentrate to the council hazardous waste collection. |
9. Notes
Washroom door propped open while cleaning. Bleach is not used in the same session as descaler.
Hazard data from the ECHA classification and labelling inventory and HSE EH40/2005. Check the supplier safety data sheet for the exact product and concentration you use. Review by the next review date, and sooner if the product or supplier changes, the task or the people doing it change, there is a spill or incident, anyone reports symptoms, or new information arrives from the supplier or HSE. This assessment is a starting point; the employer must review it against the actual workplace before relying on it.