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What is in it, and does it need a COSHH assessment?

Type what is on site — a substance, a product, or a dust the work makes — and read what the published lists say about it: the hazards, the symbols on the label, the workplace exposure limit where there is one, and whether a COSHH assessment normally covers it.

Searches 4,430 classified substances, all 426 exposure limits and 50 site-language entries with their trade names. Nothing you look up is saved.

Covered by COSHHProduct

Expanding polyurethane foam

You searched “expanding foam” · also known as expanding foam

A COSHH assessment normally covers this.

  • There is an approved workplace exposure limit for it, shown below.

Workplace exposure limitEH40/2005 Table 1

Substance / fraction8-hour TWA15-minute STEL
isocyanates, all (as –NCO)0.02 mg/m³0.07 mg/m³
  • Sen — can cause sensitisation — once someone reacts to it, they usually react to it for good

Gap-filling and fixing foam in cans. The curing agent is an isocyanate (MDI) — a respiratory sensitiser, which is what the exposure limit for isocyanates exists for.

Labels typically carry respiratory sensitisation warnings from the MDI content. The supplier's safety data sheet for the actual product is the document that decides.

Where this comes from
  • EH40/2005 Workplace exposure limits, Fourth Edition 2020, Table 1 (HSE)

In HubTrack this substance drops straight into a COSHH assessment for the job, with the exposure limit carried through and the controls that answer it.

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Your searches are not stored. The printed sheet carries the sources, their versions and today's date.

The nine hazard symbols

The card above shows the ones that belong to whatever you searched. Here they all are with their official names — and what each one warns about is on the symbols guide.

  • health hazard
  • exclamation mark
  • corrosion
  • skull and crossbones
  • flame
  • flame over circle
  • gas cylinder
  • exploding bomb
  • environment

One sheet, ready for a noticeboard — the nine symbols, their official names, and where the wording comes from.

Questions people ask

What is a COSHH assessment for?
It records what hazardous substances a job involves, who could be exposed and how, and what is being done to control that exposure. The regulations require the assessment before the work starts, and require it to be reviewed when the work or the substance changes.
What is a workplace exposure limit?
A concentration in the air, averaged over a reference period, that must not be exceeded — 8 hours for a long-term limit, 15 minutes for a short-term one. They are approved by HSE and published in EH40/2005. This page shows them in full, straight from the published table.
Does every substance need an assessment?
No. The regulations bite on substances hazardous to health — those with health hazard classifications, those with an exposure limit, dusts and fumes generated by the work, and biological agents. This tool tells you which of those apply to what you searched, and shows the evidence it used.
Why is asbestos not covered here?
Asbestos and lead are excluded from COSHH because they have their own regulations — the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 and the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002. Search for either and this tool says so rather than giving you a COSHH answer.
Where can I read more about COSHH?
The free guides cover what COSHH is, how an assessment works, what the nine hazard symbols mean, and how to read a safety data sheet — in plain trade language, with every regulation named and linked.
The product on site is a brand name, not a chemical. What then?
Search the brand name — many are recognised. Where a product is a mixture, its hazards belong to its own formulation, so the supplier's safety data sheet is the document that decides. This tool will say so, and show what that kind of product typically carries.

Sources

  • GB Mandatory Classification List — Eighth version, HSE, retrieved 2026-08-07. 4,430 substances.
  • EH40/2005 Workplace exposure limits, Fourth Edition 2020, Table 1. 426 limits, in full.
  • Retained CLP annexes for the official wording of hazard statements and pictogram names.
  • All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are reproduced as published; where a list attaches a condition, the condition is shown with it.
COSHH Hazard Lookup — Free Substance Checker & EH40 Limits | HubTrack