Wood dust from sawing and sanding in a joinery workshop
Hardwood dust is a carcinogen and all wood dust causes asthma. HSE inspection campaigns in woodworking routinely find missing extraction, dry sweeping and no health surveillance. This example covers a two person joinery shop cutting hardwood, softwood and MDF. Draft, not yet reviewed.
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Why these controls
Extraction on every machine is the primary control, and it must be examined and tested at least every 14 months under regulation 9. The assessment records which machines have extraction and which do not.
Hand sanding and cleaning up are where exposure is highest, so those tasks get RPE (an FFP3 disposable or a half mask with P3 filters, face fit tested) and an M class vacuum instead of a brush.
Health surveillance for asthma is required: a questionnaire at the start of employment and then annually, with a lung function test where the occupational health provider recommends it.
This document is a starting point. The employer must check it against the actual workplace, the product safety data sheet and current HSE guidance before relying on it. It is not an HSE approved document.
COSHH assessment
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002, regulation 6
| Company or site | Oakfield Joinery Ltd |
|---|---|
| Location | Joinery workshop, 80 m², single room |
| Assessor | Dave Whitcombe, Workshop Manager |
| Reviewed by | Dave Whitcombe, Workshop Manager |
| Approved by | — |
1. Substance
| Name | Wood dust (sawdust, hardwood dust, softwood dust) |
|---|---|
| Supplier | — |
| Quantity held on site | — |
| Physical form | dust |
| Safety data sheet | Not attached. Obtain the current sheet from the supplier and keep it with this assessment. |
| Signal word | None |
| Pictograms | No pictograms |
2. Hazards
Hardwood dust is listed as a carcinogen in EH40 Table 1. HSE requires local exhaust ventilation on woodworking machines and RPE for dusty tasks such as sanding and cleaning up. Do not dry sweep.
This substance is a carcinogen or mutagen. Under COSHH regulation 7(7) exposure must be reduced as low as is reasonably practicable, not just kept below any workplace exposure limit. Health surveillance and exposure records are expected.
| Routes of exposure | inhalation, skin, eyes |
|---|---|
| Workplace exposure limit | 8 hour TWA: 3 mg/m³, Hardwood dust, and any mixture containing hardwood, inhalable. Pure softwood dust is 5 mg/m³. Both carry a sensitiser notation (Sen); hardwood also carries Carc.. Sensitiser notation (Sen). Carcinogen notation (Carc) (EH40/2005) |
3. How the substance is used
| Task | Cutting and machining hardwood, softwood and MDF on a table saw, planer and router; hand and orbital sanding; cleaning the workshop |
|---|---|
| Who is exposed | Two joiners. Occasional visitors to the workshop. Employees, Visitors |
| At particular risk | People with existing asthma or breathing problems; Young persons under 18 |
| Frequency | Daily |
| Quantity used | Several kilograms of dust per day |
| Duration | Up to 6 hours machining, 1 hour sanding, 20 minutes cleaning |
| Ventilation | Good, windows or mechanical ventilation |
| Spray, heat or mist | No |
| Storage | Dust collected in extraction unit bags, emptied weekly outdoors |
| Store away from | Ignition sources. Dust build up is a fire and explosion risk. |
4. Risk rating
| Before controls | High, 25 out of 25 (likelihood 5 × severity 5) |
|---|---|
| With controls in place | Medium, 10 out of 25 (likelihood 2 × severity 5) |
5. Control measures in place
Substitution
- We use a low dust or ready diluted form. Paste, pellet, gel, dust free powder or ready to use product instead of loose powder or concentrate, so less gets into the air.
Engineering controls
- Local exhaust ventilation captures it at source. Extraction at the point where dust, fume or vapour is made. Thoroughly examined and tested at least every 14 months, with the report kept, as COSHH regulation 9 requires.
- Water suppression or on-tool extraction is used for cutting and grinding. Water fed tools, or tools connected to an M or H class vacuum, so dust is captured before it reaches the air.
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.
- Only trained staff use it, for as short a time as possible. Use is limited to the people who need to do the task, exposure time is kept short and tasks are rotated where practical.
- We clean up with a vacuum or wet methods, never dry sweeping. An M or H class vacuum or wet cleaning is used. Dry sweeping and compressed air are not used because they put settled dust back into the air.
- 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.
- Health surveillance is in place. Skin checks, or a breathing questionnaire and lung function tests through an occupational health provider, as COSHH regulation 11 requires for this hazard.
Personal protective equipment
- Staff wear eye protection. Goggles to EN 166 where there is a risk of splashing. Safety glasses are not relied on for corrosive liquids.
- Staff wear respiratory protection. RPE with the filter type in the data sheet. Tight fitting masks have been face fit tested. Follows HSE guidance HSG53.
6. Decisions
| Substitution considered | Considered. MDF minimised on hardwood jobs; pre-finished boards bought where the client accepts them. |
|---|---|
| Exposure adequately controlled | Yes. LEV on every machine, on-tool extraction for sanders, FFP3 for cleaning. Monitoring booked to confirm. |
| Health surveillance | Required. Respiratory questionnaire annually through the occupational health provider, lung function if advised. |
| Exposure monitoring | Required. Hardwood dust is a carcinogen. Air monitoring booked within three months. |
7. Further action required
- Arrange air monitoring for hardwood dust during sanding to confirm exposure is below 3 mg/m³. Owner: workshop manager. Within three months.
8. First aid, spillage and disposal
Inhaled: fresh air. Eyes: rinse with water. Skin: wash. See a doctor about persistent breathing or skin problems. In an emergency call 999. For advice call NHS 111.
| Spillage | Not applicable. Dust deposits vacuumed with the M class unit daily; never swept or blown down. |
|---|---|
| Disposal | Extraction bags emptied outdoors into the wood waste skip. Fine dust from the vacuum bagged and sent with general waste. |
9. Notes
LEV on table saw, planer and router tested 14 monthly. Orbital sanders connected to M class vacuum. FFP3 masks for hand sanding and cleaning, fit tested. Annual asthma questionnaire.
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.
