COSHH, law & TExT
You do not need to memorise HSG258. You need to know what it asks of you and when to reach for it.
The short answer
HSG258, full title Controlling airborne contaminants at work: a guide to local exhaust ventilation, is the Health and Safety Executive's definitive guide to LEV. It is guidance rather than legislation, so you will not be prosecuted for departing from it - but HSE inspectors use it as the benchmark for what adequate LEV management looks like, and if you deviate significantly you have to show your alternative is equally effective. In practice, following HSG258 is how you demonstrate you are meeting COSHH.
The detail
HSG258 runs across the whole life of a system: specifying and designing it for the process, commissioning it and recording baseline performance, marking zones and labelling hoods, keeping a user manual and logbook, using it correctly, maintaining it, and the thorough examination and testing regime. The current version is the third edition, published in 2017.
For a workshop manager the useful mental model is layered: COSHH says you must control exposure and test your LEV; HSG258 says here is what that control, that test and that report should look like, here is who should carry it out, and here is what to record. You reach for it at the right moments rather than reading it cover to cover.
What it means for you
The part most relevant to a manager is the user checks. HSG258 expects operator checks recorded in the logbook - at least weekly for lower-risk systems, and daily for high-risk ones such as those controlling wood dust, silica or isocyanates. These are quick: is it switched on, are grilles and pre-filters clear, is the airflow indicator reading normally.
It also sets the airflow benchmarks - capture, face and transport velocities - that a thorough examination measures against, and expects each system to have commissioning data as the reference point. Get the checks happening and the logbook populated, and the annual examination has something solid to build on.
HSG258 also expects you to know your own system: which hoods control which processes, what normal airflow looks like, and how to recognise a damaged part. That familiarity is what makes the weekly checks meaningful rather than a ritual, and it is what lets an operator spot a problem long before the next test is due.
The service behind the guide
Our testing is carried out to HSG258 and our reports reference it, and we will help you set the daily or weekly check routine it expects - so the guidance works for you instead of sitting unread on a shelf.
Questions
It is the HSE's guidance document Controlling airborne contaminants at work: a guide to local exhaust ventilation. It explains how to design, commission, use, maintain, examine and test LEV to meet COSHH. The current version is the third edition, published in 2017.
No - it is guidance, not law. But HSE inspectors treat it as the benchmark for adequate LEV management, so following it is strong evidence you are meeting your legal duties under COSHH, and departing from it means proving your approach is equally effective.
Operator checks recorded in the logbook - at least weekly for lower-risk systems and daily for high-risk ones. Typically confirming the system is on, grilles and pre-filters are clear, and airflow indicators read normally.
It applies across industries wherever LEV controls airborne hazards - woodworking, welding, engineering, paint spraying, laboratories, bakeries, nail bars and more. Sector guidance can layer on top, but HSG258 is the common standard.
It is a priced HSE publication. One copy shared between whoever manages the LEV and your competent examiner covers most needs - you use it as a reference rather than reading it end to end.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
We test to HSG258 and help you set up the user checks and logbook it expects, so following it becomes straightforward rather than daunting. Call or email for a quote.