Lead

The Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 (CLAW) apply to any kind of work activity where there is a risk of exposing workers and anyone else to lead. The lead must be in a form that can be inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin.

Regulation 2 sets out occupational exposure limits, action levels and blood suspension levels.

The blood suspension level is the level of lead in the blood at which employers must remove employees from work with lead. If, despite all control measures, the amount of lead that an employee absorbs reaches the suspension level, the doctor responsible for medical surveillance will usually certify that the employee should be removed from work involving exposure to lead. If employers cannot transfer the employees to other work not involving exposure to lead, they must pay them suspension pay for up to six months under the Employment Rights Act 1996.

The regulations also set out blood-lead levels below the suspension levels, known as action levels. If these lower levels are breached, employers must investigate and remedy the cause. They must also take positive steps to reduce the concentration of lead in the air to a level not exceeding the occupational exposure limits (OEL) in the regulations. The levels specified are as follows:

• the OEL for lead other than lead alkyls is 0.15mg/m3 air; and that for lead alkyls is 0.10mg/m3 air, averaged over an eight-hour period;

• the action levels are 25µg/dl for women of reproductive capacity;

• 40µg/dll for young people and 50µg/dl for any other employee; and

• suspension levels are 30µg/dl for women of reproductive capacity, 50µg/dll for young people and 60µg/dll for other employees, and urine lead concentrations of 25µg/Pb/g creatinine for women of reproductive capacity; and 110µg Pb/g creatinine for other employees.

Regulation 5 requires employers to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks created by working with lead and to consider whether the exposure of any employee to lead is likely to be significant. Employers must review the risk assessment regularly.

They must also review the risk assessment if the results of any monitoring show it to be necessary, or if the blood-lead concentration of any employee under medical surveillance reaches the action level. Under Regulation 6, employers must prevent exposure to lead by substituting a substance or process that eliminates or reduces the risk to employees.

Regulation 8 imposes duties for the care and decontamination of personal protective equipment (PPE). Employers must keep records of air monitoring for five years under Regulation 9. Regulation 10 defines the circumstances in which an employee must be under medical surveillance. Employers must give employees at risk of lead exposure suitable and sufficient information. Information, instruction and training must be adapted to take account of significant changes in the type of work carried out, or the methods of work used.

Regulation 11 introduces a duty to ensure that the contents of containers and pipes for lead used at work are clearly identifiable. Regulation 12 requires employers to prepare procedures, provide information and establish warning systems to deal with an emergency in the workplace related to the presence of lead.

The regulations prohibit the employment of young people and women of reproductive capacity in the following activities, listed in Schedule 1 to the regulations:

• lead smelting and refining processes, work involving the handling, treatment, sintering, smelting or refining of ores or materials containing not less than 5% lead;

• lead-acid battery manufacturing processes, work involving the manipulation of lead oxides; mixing or pasting in connection with the manufacture or repair of lead-acid batteries; the melting or casting of lead; the trimming, abrading or cutting of pasted plates in connection with the manufacture or repair of lead-acid batteries; and

• cleaning places where any of these processes are carried out.

The main industries affected by the regulations are lead smelting, refining and casting, battery manufacture, shipbuilding, glassworks, potteries, waste recycling and demolition firms.

Following the HSE’s review of its ACOPs, as recommended by the Löfstedt Review of health and safety regulations (see Chapter 12) the HSE has announced that it will make minor revisions to Control of Lead at Work (L132) by the end of 2014.