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:  occupational health and health surveillance schemes HSE G402 (occupational asthma) HSE G403 (occupational dermatitis) 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 incubator to test pH, you need pH paper test strips or an electronic pH meter to test concentration, you need a refractometer For more details see: HSE COSHH MW5: Managing fluid quality  Or watch short videos from UKLA on: Using dipslides to monitor bacteria Measuring the pH of metalworking fluid Using a refractometer to check concentration 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: watch our webinar for information on managing the health hazards of metalworking fluids find out more about HSEâs metalworking fluids campaign view HSE's metalworking fluids website | 