Health and safety regulations require employers to carry out an assessment of the risks to the health from hazardous substances present in the workplace. A suitable and sufficient risk assessment is required wherever exposure to flour dust is likely to occur.
Where there are five or more employees a written copy of the risk assessment should be provided and employees should always be informed of any significant findings from the assessment process.
Understanding when employees and others may be exposed to flour dust is important when conducting a risk assessment. All potential sources of exposure should be identified as well as who is likely to be exposed, and for how long.
In workplaces, the following circumstances may lead to unnecessary exposure to flour dust:
A series of HSE COSHH essentials advice sheets for the production and use of flour are available to assist anyone undertaking a risk assessment. Advice for managers is available within the document FL0 Advice for managers.
Further information on how to conduct a risk assessment is available within the HSE publication A step by step guide to COSHH assessment.
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