Why have we created this website?

For decades, Greater Manchester Hazards Centre has supported and worked with tens of thousands of workers across the UK, in hundreds of workplaces across all sectors and types of workplace, working closely with all the unions. A major part of our work has always been on preventing and reducing workers' exposure to chemicals by elimination, substitution an altering processes. In the 1990s we were involved in a 12 country European Union substitution project called Subsprint aimed at substituting harmful organic solvents used for cleaning up printing presses, with less harmful non volatile vegetable oil based cleaning products.

TUR is about reducing the amount and number of toxic substances to which workers are exposed based on their hazards. This can be achieved by eliminating the most hazardous substances and processes and substituting safer chemicals and redesigned processess. All that should be done under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH). However, we recognise the limitations of COSHH which is poorly enforced and many employers are ignoring their legal duties to consider and act on the whole control hierarchy.

In 2019 we supported the setting up of TUCAN (Trade Union Clean Air Network which centred its work in supporting trade union members tackle work related air pollution. The action checklist above was created in conjunction with trade unions and environmental activists.

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