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    COSHH Air Monitoring for Industrial Laundry Facility | Hazardous Substance Assessment Case Study

    A leading industrial laundry and textile processing facility commissioned Sysco Environmental to undertake a comprehensive workplace exposure monitoring programme under COSHH Regulations. The assessment identified exposure to inhalable dust, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), benzene and toluene, enabling the client to prioritise controls and demonstrate regulatory compliance.

    27 May 2026 2 min readBy Sysco Environmental
    COSHH Air Monitoring for Industrial Laundry Facility | Hazardous Substance Assessment Case Study

    The Challenge

    Industrial laundering operations often involve exposure to a mixture of dusts, solvents, hydrocarbons and chemical residues transferred from customer garments and textiles.

    The client required a detailed occupational hygiene assessment to:

    • Evaluate employee exposure to airborne contaminants

    • Demonstrate compliance with COSHH Regulations 2002

    • Identify areas where exposure controls could be improved

    • Support ongoing health and safety management

    The assessment covered:

    • Soiled product receiving areas

    • Product sorting operations

    • Clean sorting and packing areas

    • Effluent processing operations

    • Chemical storage locations

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    Sysco Environmental's Approach

    Sysco Environmental designed and implemented a workplace air monitoring programme in accordance with:

    The assessment included:

    • Personal exposure monitoring

    • Static area monitoring

    • Dust sampling

    • Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) monitoring

    • Assessment of existing control measures

    • Workplace observations and employee exposure profiling

    Key Findings

    The monitoring programme identified:

    Airborne Dust

    Personal inhalable dust exposures remained well below applicable Workplace Exposure Limits, demonstrating effective general control of dust-generating activities.

    Solvent Exposure

    A range of VOCs were detected, including:

    • Toluene

    • Ethyl acetate

    • Acetone

    • Xylene

    • Aromatic hydrocarbon compounds

    While measured concentrations remained below Workplace Exposure Limits, several substances exceeded the significance threshold for denoted substances and required further consideration.

    Benzene Identification

    Static monitoring around a dry sack filling operation identified airborne benzene concentrations that represented approximately 25% of the relevant Workplace Exposure Limit.

    Although personal exposure was expected to be lower than static measurements suggested, the presence of a carcinogenic substance required further investigation and control review.

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    Recommendations Delivered

    Sysco Environmental provided a practical action plan including:

    • Investigation of benzene sources within the dry sack filling process

    • Review and upgrade of respiratory protective equipment (RPE)

    • Face-fit testing programme implementation

    • Introduction of HEPA-filtered vacuum cleaning methods

    • Elimination of dry sweeping practices

    • Installation of Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) within workshop operations

    • Enhanced workplace hygiene controls

    Outcomes

    The assessment provided the client with:

    • Defensible occupational exposure data

    • Evidence of COSHH compliance

    • Prioritised risk reduction actions

    • Improved understanding of solvent exposure pathways

    • Clear recommendations for reducing future exposure risks

    By combining exposure monitoring with practical occupational hygiene advice, Sysco Environmental enabled the client to take proactive action before exposures became regulatory concerns.

    Services Delivered