Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

14.11 
Maintenance and emergency 
controls
Engineering control measures will only remain effective 
if there is a programme of preventative maintenance 
available. Indeed the COSHH Regulations require that 
systems of adequate control are in place and the term 
‘adequate control’ spans normal operations, emergen-
cies and maintenance. Maintenance will involve the 
cleaning, testing and, possibly, the dismantling of equip-
ment. It could involve the changing of fi lters in extraction 
plant or entering confi ned spaces. It will almost certainly 
require hazardous substances to be handled and waste 
material to be safely disposed. It may also require a per-
mit-to-work procedure to be in place since the control 
equipment will be inoperative during the maintenance 
operations. Records of maintenance should be kept for 
at least 5 years.
Emergencies can range from fairly trivial spillages to 
major fi res involving serious air pollution incidents. The 
following points should be considered when emergency 
procedures are being developed:
➤
the possible results of a loss of control (e.g. lack of 
ventilation)
➤
dealing with spillages and leakages (availability of 
effective absorbent materials)
➤
raising the alarm for more serious emergencies
➤
evacuation procedures, including the alerting of 
neighbours
➤
fi re-fi ghting procedures and organization
➤
availability of respiratory protection equipment
➤
information and training.
The Emergency Services should be informed of the 
fi nal emergency procedures and, in the case of the Fire 
Service, consulted for advice during the planning of the 
procedures. (See Chapter 6 for more details on emer-
gency procedures.)
14.12 
The transport of hazardous