NAA Member News: Brabners – Spray booth inspections: What automotive businesses need to know
Claire Burrows, Partner at Brabners, discusses why MVR businesses should respond to new spray booth regulations now to avoid costly consequences.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched a new campaign of 1,000 targeted inspections across the motor vehicle repair (MVR) sector, focused on one of the industry’s most persistent and preventable risks: exposure to isocyanates.
For MVR businesses, the message is simple – spray booth safety is now under the microscope, and with occupational asthma still the leading cause of long-term ill-health in paint spraying, the risks aren’t just reputational or financial, they threaten to affect the wellbeing of colleagues.
While the legal framework remains unchanged under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations, the shift to proactive enforcement marks a new phase in how health risks are being policed across the automotive sector. Now is the time for management teams to assess their risk controls, before the HSE does it for them.
Knowing the risk
Isocyanates, commonly found in two-pack (2k) paints, lacquers and coatings, are a recognised cause of occupational asthma. The condition can develop quickly and can permanently end careers in paint spraying. Even low-level exposure can cause severe issues.
Despite this, poor control measures remain widespread across the industry. Shortcomings could range from inadequate ventilation systems to a lack of biological monitoring, meaning many businesses still operate under a false sense of compliance.
This complacency is what the HSE inspections aim to address. Inspectors will assess both whether appropriate personal protective equipment is available, and also if employers are actively monitoring exposure, enforcing safe practices and delivering the legally required health surveillance.
The fine print
Employers have a clear legal obligation under COSHH to prevent or adequately control exposure to hazardous substances and to confirm that their control measures are working. For isocyanate use, this means maintaining spray booths or rooms with negative pressure and using effective extraction systems to prevent vapour from escaping into the wider workplace. It also requires that workers are issued with and properly use air-fed breathing apparatus.
Furthermore, employers must ensure that exposure is being properly monitored through regular urine testing – a practical and cost-effective method that enables early detection of control failures. This monitoring must be supported by ongoing health surveillance, delivered by occupational health professionals, to detect early signs of asthma or dermatitis.
Critically, businesses must also implement and enforce safe clearance procedures, including clear display of spray area clearance times and ensuring workers do not remove respiratory equipment before it is safe to do so.
Belt and braces
Perhaps most importantly, all MVR businesses should be aware that, under health and safety law, prosecution can happen even where no harm has yet occurred. Risk alone may be enough to warrant enforcement, particularly if it relates to a preventable hazard like isocyanate exposure.
If workers are found to be spraying without effective respiratory protection, or if employers cannot provide evidence of biological monitoring and health surveillance, they may face improvement or prohibition notices, or in some cases, prosecution leading to unlimited fines.
Reputational consequences can also be significant. Businesses that are named in enforcement actions risk long-term damage to client relationships and may struggle to attract and retain skilled labour in an already stretched talent market.
Acting now
The good news is that with the right systems in place, employers can demonstrate compliance, reduce liability and protect their workforce. But doing so requires more than having policies in place – it means embedding safe systems of work into day-to-day operations and ensuring that they’re consistently followed and improved.
Brabners Protect, our suite of proactive health and safety legal solutions, works directly with automotive businesses to build practical, effective compliance strategies that work in the real world. We support management teams to review and update COSHH assessments, implement robust biological monitoring programme and engage trusted occupational health providers to carry out health surveillance. We can work with clients to ensure they’re adequately prepared for HSE inspections, providing legal support and representation if enforcement action is taken.
We also help clients approach compliance as an ongoing process – one that supports workforce wellbeing, reduces long-term cost and protects organisational resilience.
Sector opportunity
The HSE’s inspection programme should be seen not just as a compliance challenge, but as a catalyst for positive change. While enforcement is tightening, the focus remains on prevention – giving automotive businesses an opportunity to reassess their processes and close any gaps.
Spray booth safety is the issue of the moment, but other issues – including power tool health risks and fire safety – remain firmly on the regulatory agenda. The businesses that act now to improve systems and verify the effectiveness of their controls will be those best placed to succeed in a more regulated environment.
To find out how Brabners Protect can support your business in managing COSHH risk and preparing for inspection, contact Claire.Burrows@brabners.com or visit www.brabners.com/protect.
