Guide
COSHH and LEV: what regulation 9 requires of an employer
Updated
LEV is a control measure under COSHH, which means the duty is not just to have it but to keep it working and to prove it. Here is the duty in the regulation's own terms.
The duty in regulation 9
- Regulation 9(1): maintain
- Plant, equipment and engineering controls provided to control exposure must be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order, in good repair and in a clean condition, and systems of work reviewed at suitable intervals and revised where necessary.
- Regulation 9(2): examine and test
- Engineering controls must be thoroughly examined and tested at suitable intervals; for local exhaust ventilation plant that is at least once every 14 months, or the shorter interval in Schedule 4 where the process is listed there.
- Regulation 9(4): record
- A suitable record of the examinations, tests and any repairs must be kept, and kept for at least 5 years from the date it was made.
Regulation 9 also covers respiratory protective equipment and personal protective equipment, which is why an LEV test and a face fit testing programme often land on the same person's desk. Full wording at legislation.gov.uk.
Who can carry out the examination and test
COSHH requires a thorough examination and test but does not name a qualification. HSE's LEV guidance says the work requires specialist skills, and that although it is possible to do it in house, most businesses engage someone with the specialist knowledge, experience and skills to do it (hse.gov.uk). In practice buyers ask testers about their training, their equipment calibration and a sample report, which is a better filter than any single certificate name.
HSG258, the guidance behind the test
HSE publishes Controlling airborne contaminants at work: A guide to local exhaust ventilation (LEV), HSG258, third edition 2017, free to download from HSE. It covers deciding on, designing, commissioning and testing effective LEV, along with hood design and classification, ducts, air movers, air cleaners, system documentation and maintenance schedules (hse.gov.uk). If a tester's report does not reference how your system was meant to perform, HSG258 is the document to hold it against.
The three documents a good LEV file holds
- Commissioning data for the system as installed, showing the performance it was designed to achieve. HSE notes that this may be an initial appraisal or commissioning report, or for simple standalone systems the supplier's standard operating data.
- The current thorough examination and test report, dated within the applicable interval.
- A maintenance and checks log, showing that regulation 9(1) is being met between examinations, plus the previous reports back to 5 years.
Nothing on this page is health and safety advice. It summarises what the regulation and HSE guidance say so you can ask a competent person the right questions.