Health & Safety
Lead at Work Policy
Sept 2009
Policy & Detail
AIMS
The university will ensure that the
exposure of any employees to lead is
either prevented or, where this is not
reasonably practicable, that such
exposure is adequately controlled.
Responsibility
for
Implementation
Director of Facilities.
Deans of Faculties & Directors (if and
where applicable.
Standards
Specific tasks may be delegated to
appropriate and experienced staff.
1 The University will avoid the use of any
lead or products containing lead. Where
this is not reasonably practicable a risk
assessment will be completed and
suitable and sufficient protection
measures will be put into place for every
work involving lead.
2 All staff involved in work where there is
liable to be significant exposure to lead
must receive suitable training and
information regarding its use and possible
associated health effects.
3 Any female staff member who is pregnant
or breast feeding must not work where
there is liable to be significant exposure to
lead or products containing lead.
4 Given the hazard that lead can present,
the university will also not permit any
young persons (i.e. those aged between
16-18) to work where there is liable to be
significant exposure to lead or products
containing lead.
4 The Director of Facilities (and
Deans/Directors as applicable) must
ensure that facilities are provided to
enable staff to eat and drink away from
any risk of contamination with lead, this
Cross
References
Control of Lead at
Work Regs 2002
Regulation 6
‘Prevention or
control of
exposure to lead’
See HSE Leaflet
INDG305 “Lead
and You”
http://www.hse.go
v.uk/pubns/indg3
05.pdf
Control of Lead at
Work Regs 2002
Regulation 4
‘The Right Start’
INDG 364
http://www.hse.go
v.uk/youngpeople
/risks/substances/
lead.htm
must include facilities to wash and remove
contaminated clothing (if required by the
risk assessment).
5 All staff involved in work where there is
liable to be significant exposure to lead
must be made aware of the need for
health surveillance.
6 Management and staff must co-operate
with the University Occupational Health
Service to ensure that any health
surveillance required is carried out in
accordance with their advice and
requirements as defined by the HSE.
7 A record of staff working where there is
liable to be significant exposure to lead or
products containing lead must be retained
by the Directorate, Faculty or Department.
Relevant
Legislation
Guidance
Definitions
Review Date
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
Management of Health & Safety at Work
Regulations 1999
Control of Substances Hazardous To
Health
2002
http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/index.htm
Control of Lead at Work Regs 2002
http://www.hse.gov.uk/lead/index.htm
HSE Lead Microsite
http://www.hse.gov.uk/lead/index.htm
‘Health Surveillance at Work an
introduction for Employees’ INDG304.
‘Lead and You’INDG305.
‘The Right Start’ INDG 364
“Lead” means lead (including lead alkyls,
lead alloys, any compounds of lead and
lead as a constituent of any substance or
material) which is liable to be inhaled,
ingested or otherwise absorbed by
persons except where it is given off from
the exhaust system of a vehicle on a road
within the meaning of section 192 of the
Road Traffic Act 1988 “lead alkyls” means
tetraethyl lead or tetramethyl lead.
2 Years after initial approval
See Significant
Exposure Appx 1
and University
approach to Lead
Health
Surveillance’
Appx 2
Health & Safety Lead Policy L1
Appendix 1
Table 1 Work with lead liable to result in significant exposure (Taken from the
Control of Lead at Work Regulations)
Lead work where there is liable
Examples of industries and processes where
to be significant exposure to
such work could be carried out
lead (unless the employer
provides adequate controls)
Lead dust and fumes
1 High-temperature lead work
Lead smelting and refining; casting of certain
o
(above 500 C), e.g. lead
non-ferrous metals, e.g. gun-metal; battery
smelting, melting, refining,
grids; leaded steels manufacture; scrap metal
casting and recovery
and wire-patenting processes, burning of leadprocesses, lead burning,
coated and painted plant and surfaces in
welding and cutting.
demolition work; ship-building, breaking and
repairing; chemical industry; radiator repair.
2 Work with lead compounds
Manufacture of lead-acid batteries, paints and
which gives rise to lead dust
colours, lead compounds, rubber products; fire
in air, e.g. any work activity
assay, i.e. the use of lead oxides for the assay
involving a wide variety of
of precious metals by the process of cupellation;
lead compounds.
certain mixing and melting processes in the
glass industry, certain colour preparations and
glazing processes in the pottery industry. Highspeed mixing and blending of plastics moulding
powders containing lead stabilisers or colours.
Work with low-solubility lead compounds (as
defined in Appendix 1*) where poor working
practices and standards of cleaning exist (see
item 5).
Battery breaking.
Manufacture of detonators (explosives industry).
3 Abrasion of lead giving rise to Miscellaneous industries, e.g. motor vehicle
lead dust in air, e.g. dry
body manufacture and repair of leaded car
discing, grinding, cutting by
bodies.
power tools.
Firing small firearms on indoor ranges.
Blast removal and burning of old lead paint.
4 Spraying of lead paint and
Painting bridges, buildings etc. with lead paint.
lead compounds and lowsolubility lead compounds (as
defined in Appendix 1*)
5 Work with low-solubility
Work which is poorly controlled. This might be
inorganic lead compounds
because of poor ventilation, housekeeping,
(when tested for low solubility personal hygiene or lack of proper welfare,
as defined in Appendix 1*).
eating, drinking or smoking facilities.
6 Paint stripping.
Furniture and joinery restoration, e.g. removal of
old lead paint from furniture, doors, window
frames etc. by immersion in a bath of caustic
soda or dichloromethane, and scraping off the
residual sludge. May be followed by pressure
washing and sanding.
7 Craft work.
Lead alkyls
1 Production of concentrated
lead alkyls.
2 Inspection, cleaning and
maintenance work inside
tanks which have contained
leaded gasoline, e.g. road,
rail and sea tankers and fixed
storage tanks.
Sculpture of bas relief in lead sheet.
Lead alkyl manufacture.
Oil refineries, oil transport terminals and certain
works where tank cars are inspected or
repaired.
Table 2 Work with lead not liable to result in significant exposure
Lead work where there is not
Examples of industries and processes where
liable to be significant exposure
such work could be carried out
to lead
Lead dust and fumes
1 Work with galena (lead
Mining and working of galena when its character
sulphide).
or composition is not changed.
2 Low-temperature melting of
Plumbing; soldering.
lead (below 500oC). (Such
low temperatures control the
fume but some care is still
required in controlling any
dust from dross.)
3 Work with materials which
contain less than 1% total
lead.
4 Work with lead in emulsion or
paste form where the
moisture content is such and
is maintained so that lead
dust and fume cannot be
given off throughout the
duration of the work.
5 Handling of clean solid
metallic lead, e.g. ingots,
pipes, sheets etc.
Lead alkyls
1 Any exposure to lead alkyl
vapours from leaded gasoline
where the lead content is
limited under the Motor Fuel
(Composition and Content)
Regs 1994 (SI No. 2295)
Brush painting with lead paint and using some
stabilizers for plastics.
Miscellaneous metal industries, stockholding,
general plumbing with sheet lead.
Work with such leaded gasoline including, for
example, the filling of petrol vehicles on garage
forecourts (except for work inside tanks which
have contained leaded gasoline as listed in
Table 1).
Health & Safety Lead Policy L1
Appendix 2
University approach to Lead Health Surveillance
(To be inserted once approved)
Approved by H&SC Sept 2009
(H&S Office Policy Reference Number HSP8)