Hazardous substances

Many materials or substances used or created at work can be harmful to health. By law, employers have to control exposure to hazardous substances and carry out an assessment.

Hazardous substances include: 

• Substances used directly in work activities (for example, adhesives, paints, cleaning products)
• Substances generated during work activities (for example, fumes from soldering and welding)
• Naturally occurring substances (for example, grain dust)
• Bacteria and other micro-organisms. 

Find out what you need to do on the HSE website - Control of Substances Hazardous to Health.

Non-medical poisons licences 

There is a list of poisons which are allowed to be sold. The list is in two parts: 

• Part I - substances which can only be sold by a pharmacist
• Part II - pharmacists and other retailers who register with us. If you want to sell these you must apply for a license. A fee is payable for registration. 

Read the legislation on legislation.gov.uk.