Health and safety law requires health surveillance, when your workers remain exposed to fluid or mist, even after you have put controls in place. Health surveillance is a scheme of repeated health checks which are used to identify ill health caused by work. The aim is to detect any symptoms as early as possible. Itâs not the same as health monitoring, health promotion or health screening.  Find out more about how to set up a scheme:  Water-mix metalworking fluid deteriorates over time and can become contaminated.  Concentration, pH and bacteria levels should be checked weekly, and corrective action taken if needed.  Monitoring and maintaining fluid quality effectively is key to controlling risk and they are three very different checks. pH isnât considered an alternative to dipslides to check for bacterial growth. - to test bacteria levels, you need dipslides and an incubatorÂ
- to test pH, you need pH paper test strips or an electronic pH meter
- to test concentration, you need a refractometer
Exposure to metalworking fluids can cause harm to lungs and skin. Work-related lung diseases have a devastating impact on workersâ lives but when effective controls are in place, occupational lung diseases are preventable. Are you confident on how to protect workers?
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The below links offer more advice and guidance about metalworking fluids and making sure your business has the correct measures in place: | 
