Industrial Health and Safety: Recycling

(asked on 14th July 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Health and Safety Executive on protecting the health of workers in recycling businesses who are exposed to flame retardant chemicals when stripping down end-of-life sofas and mattresses.


Answered by
Mims Davies Portrait
Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 22nd July 2020

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) outline specific duties on employers to protect workers from harmful substances, such as foams and flame retardants, which may be contained in soft furnishings such as mattresses and sofas. HSE provides practical advice and guidance on the basics of COSHH, completing COSHH assessments and links to industry specific information and guidance to prevent and control workplace exposure to harmful substances at http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh.

Furniture manufacturers buy upholstery materials that have already received treatment to meet specified ignition resistance levels and are suitably labelled. HSE has not specifically examined the issue of exposure to flame retardant chemicals when cutting and sewing these fabrics. Exposure to flame retardant chemicals from stripping end of life sofas and mattresses is not a known issue in the waste and recycling industry and no guidance has been produced on the topic by either HSE or the industry’s own Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum.

Reticulating Splines