Does control banding work?
Yes—for the most part, evidence supports the effectiveness of control banding (or COSHH Essentials). The German authority (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin – BAuA) evaluated the system based on about 1,000 personal measurements from field studies in 18 industrial applications. They found that for solids (dusts and powders) and medium-scale use (liter quantities) of liquids, exposures were within the range predicted by COSHH Essentials or lower. For the use of small quantities (milliliters) of solvent-based products (such as paint or adhesive), exposures sometimes exceeded the range. A study of another control banding tool, the International Labor Organization (ILO) Toolkit, was conducted in the United States. The study found small safety margins for the hazard bands that included high-potency chemicals. [Jones and Nicas 2004] For example, high airborne exposures were measured during vapor degreasing operations even though local exhaust ventilation had been installed.
