Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that businesses undertaking welding provide effective controls on the fumes arising from welding.

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require that businesses ensure that exposure to substances hazardous to health, like welding fume, are either prevented or, where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled.

The hierarchy of control measures specified by COSHH requires systems of work and engineering controls to be implemented, where reasonably practicable, to provide adequate control of welding fume. A key engineering control is the provision of suitable Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) equipment to remove the fume at source.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducts regular inspection campaigns targeting the industries where welding is prevalent. A key part of the inspection is to check that the correct type of LEV is provided, that it is effective, that workers know how to set up and use the equipment correctly, welding is appropriately supervised, that the LEV is maintained and that the LEV is thoroughly examined and tested by competent examiners at the correct intervals.

HSE has worked with the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) to promote the BOHS Welding LEV On-line Selector Tool developed and published on their website that allows duty holders to specify their welding requirements and circumstances and the tool suggests the most appropriate control measures (Welding Fume Control Selector Tool).