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<p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates exposure to silica primarily through
the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). COSHH requires
employers to ensure substances which may be harmful to people’s health through their
work activities are identified and assessed; and processes are put in place to eliminate
or control risks. Silica is also subject to workplace exposure limits (WELs), which
set out maximum exposure levels to hazardous substances. The most harmful form of
silica is respirable crystalline silica (RCS).</p><p> </p><p>HSE has produced a range
of freely available guidance to demonstrate what compliance with COSHH and good control
practice looks like across a range of industries, available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/coshh/index.htm.</p><p>
</p><p>HSE has also produced internal operational guidance that outlines the initial
enforcement expectations where HSE’s inspectors encounter problems related to RCS
during regulatory interventions. These form a benchmark against which compliance can
be measured on an intervention-by-intervention basis.</p><p> </p><p>Overall compliance
is assessed on an industry-by-industry basis. In 2009, HSE published Research Report
RR689 ‘Silica Baseline Survey’ that provided intelligence on exposure and control
of RCS in key industry sectors. In the intervening period, RCS has remained an important
issue within HSE’s inspection programme for the relevant high-risk sectors. For example,
HSE recently conducted an inspection initiative between 17<sup>th</sup> June 2019
– 12<sup>th</sup> July 2019 that focussed on RCS and other dusts in the construction
industry. The extent of compliance is considered as part of HSE’s evaluation work
of such workstreams alongside other significant risks.</p>
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