COSHH on Construction Sites: What You Actually Need to Do

‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‍For small builders and main contractors - England & Wales

Last reviewed: March 2026

This is the lung-damage one. You don't feel it on the day, but years later it can finish you. HSE are actively targeting dust now, not just helmets and boots.

1. What silica is and why it matters

• Silica is in concrete, bricks, blocks, mortar, tiles, stone and many mixes.
• Cutting, grinding or chasing these creates fine respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust that goes deep into your lungs.
• Long-term exposure can cause silicosis, COPD and lung cancer, and the damage is permanent.
• You won't cough your way through a warning - usually it's silent until it's too late.

2. Where small builders get hammered

High-dust tasks you do all the time:

• Cutting concrete, blocks, bricks and slabs with cut-off saws and grinders.
• Chasing walls for cables and pipework.
• Raking out mortar.
• Dry cutting tiles, especially porcelain.
• Dry sweeping dusty floors indoors.

HSE inspections now focus specifically on dust controls - and they are stopping jobs where they see people cutting or grinding with no water, no extraction and no proper masks.

3. COSHH in one page: how it applies to dust

COSHH is just the rules for controlling substances that can harm health, which includes construction dust.

On dust, COSHH expects you to:

1. Identify the dusty tasks (cutting, chasing, grinding, sweeping).
2. Assess the risk - how often, how long, what material, indoors vs outdoors.
3. Control exposure - use the right methods/kit so exposure is as low as reasonably practicable.
4. Check and maintain controls - extraction, water suppression, RPE, vacs.
5. Inform and train your lads - they need to know why dust matters and how to use the kit properly.

You don't need a thick binder. A couple of sensible COSHH assessments for your main dusty tasks is enough if you actually follow them.

4. The hierarchy: how to control dust properly

4.1 Try to eliminate or reduce the dust

• Use pre-cut materials where possible.
• Use ready-mixed instead of dry powder where it makes sense.
• Cut outside, away from others, instead of indoors when you can.

4.2 Engineering controls (this is where HSE look first)

Typical small-site controls:

• Wet cutting: water-fed saws and grinders to keep dust down.
• On-tool extraction: tools connected to an M- or H-class vacuum with proper filters.
• Local exhaust / bench extraction for repetitive cutting where available.

If you're doing high-dust work and your only "control" is a cheap paper mask, expect grief from an inspector.

4.3 Work methods and housekeeping

• Dampen dusty surfaces before sweeping, or better yet vacuum with a suitable vac.
• Keep others away from the cutting area - no point protecting the cutter if everyone else is breathing the cloud.
• Avoid working in small, unventilated rooms unless you've got proper extraction.

5. RPE (masks): what's "good enough" and what isn't

For silica-type dust, HSE expect FFP3 or better filtering when exposure isn't fully controlled.

Bare minimum

• Use FFP3 disposable masks or reusable half-mask respirators with P3 filters - not cheap DIY dust masks.
• Masks must fit the face properly - beards and stubble kill the seal.
• For reusable masks: keep them clean, store them properly, change filters as specified.

But remember: RPE is last line, not the main control. HSE want to see wet cutting and/or extraction first, masks second.

6. What HSE are actually doing on dust

Recent campaigns have done over a thousand inspections focused on dust. Inspectors are:

• Looking for planning - do you clearly know which tasks generate dust and what your controls are?
• Checking that on-tool extraction and water suppression are in use and maintained.
• Checking that suitable RPE is available, face-fit tested where needed, and actually being worn.
• Stopping jobs where they see uncontrolled high-dust work (e.g. dry cutting indoors, no controls, no RPE).

They're treating dust the way they treated working at height a few years ago: if it obviously isn't controlled, they'll shut you down.

7. Practical setups for typical jobs

Job 1: Chasing 10 m of wall in an occupied house

• Use a chaser with on-tool extraction into an M/H-class vac.
• Keep room doors closed; open windows where possible.
• Wear FFP3 or half-mask with P3 filters.
• Dampen and vacuum dust instead of dry sweeping afterwards.

Job 2: Laying porcelain or concrete slabs outside

• Use a water-fed saw for all cutting.
• Set a cutting area downwind and away from others.
• Mask up (FFP3) when cutting, especially in still air.

Job 3: Raking out and repointing brickwork

• Use raking tools with extraction or wet methods where possible.
• Avoid grinding indoors.
• Mask up properly; control dust from cleaning up.

None of this is exotic any more - the kit is standard and reasonably priced compared to the cost of an enforcement visit or a bloke who can't work in ten years' time.

8. What you should have on every job, realistically

For a small builder who wants to be on the right side of this:

• A couple of sensible COSHH assessments covering: cutting/grinding concrete/brick/tile, chasing, mixing powders.
• At least one decent M-class vac with on-tool extraction attachments.
• Access to a water-fed saw for regular slab/block cutting.
• A stock of FFP3 masks and/or a few reusable half-masks with P3 filters that fit your regular team.
• A simple rule: no dry cutting of masonry unless there's a very good reason and extra controls in place.

Do that and you're already ahead of most of the industry - and you're not gambling your lungs or your lads' lungs for the sake of saving a few minutes.

This page is a general guide for small builders and main contractors. It doesn't replace COSHH Regulations, HSE guidance or occupational health advice. Always follow current HSE dust control guidance, use proper extraction and RPE, and include dust in your COSHH assessments. SiteKiln does not provide legal, financial or tax advice. All content is for general information purposes only. Always seek professional advice for your specific situation.

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