Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee
Committee Inquiry into the use and regulation of sunbeds in Wales – Written evidence from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Dear
I am writing on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in response to the recent call for evidence to support the Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee inquiry into ‘The use and regulation of sunbeds in Wales
’.
HSE recognises the wider public health concerns surrounding the potential long-term health effects associated with sunbed use and supports the Terms of Reference of the inquiry. The Committee may find the following information useful:
Operators of Commercial premises operating sunbeds are subject to the Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974 (HSWA) and its associated regulations. A principle of the legislation is that those who create risks to safety and health, by work activities, or by the conduct of their undertaking, either to their employees or to others, need to manage them as far as reasonably practicable. In premises with sunbeds these risks could be issues such as slips and trips in the salon, or specific to sunbed use, for example ensuring that customers are not badly burned.
Local Authorities are the enforcing authority for HSWA in the vast majority of premises with sunbeds in Wales. HSE only has enforcement responsibility for any sunbeds operated by local authorities (eg in leisure centres). In addition HSE retains a role in regulating the manufacture or supply of equipment used in the premises and HSE specialist inspectors can provide support to local authority colleagues to ensure sunbed operators, suppliers and manufacturers comply with the HSWA and its relevant regulations. Where standards are not met and people are put at risk, appropriate and proportionate enforcement action can be taken. Where the breach is judged to be sufficiently serious, prosecution under the HSWA may be appropriate.
In support of the Government’s Cancer Reform Strategy, HSE recently updated its guidance to operators of premises with sunbeds and their customers under the context of the HSWA. This is included as the annexe to this submission and is available on our website. We have started work to translate this into Welsh and will ensure it is made available on the ‘HSE Wales’ website. The guidance was developed with key stakeholders and reflects international health advice and good practice. For example, it recommends that under-18s should not use sunbeds and advocates that tanning salons should be supervised.
HSE believes that this guidance represents a good step forward in helping to minimise the health risks from sunbed use and should complement any further public health regulation in this area which HSE believes should be for the health departments.
The Committee may wish to note that HSE is also providing information to a similar review being undertaken by Department of Health and will be contributing to the consultation on sunbed provisions of the Public Health (Scotland) Act 2008.
Either myself or HSE colleagues will be available to provide further evidence should the Committee require it.
Yours sincerely
Terry Rose
Divisional Director
Cyfarwyddwr Rhanbarthol
Annexe
Reducing health risks from the use of ultraviolet (UV) tanning equipment
Introduction
The use of any ultraviolet (UV) tanning equipment (eg sunlamps, sunbeds and
tanning booths) may expose staff and will expose customers to UV radiation.
UV radiation can cause injuries and ill health either in the short term (eg sunburnt
skin or conjunctivitis) or in the long term (eg premature skin ageing, skin cancer and
cataracts). Exposure to UV radiation tanning equipment before the age of 35 years
significantly increases the risk of several types of skin cancer. Younger people seem
to be more at risk from the cancer causing effects of indoor tanning.1
HSE considers the advice in this leaflet to reflect good practice for employers
operating UV tanning equipment. This leaflet gives advice on how to reduce
health risks.
Operators should note that the Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008 regulates the
use of UV tanning equipment in Scotland. Scottish operators will need to consider
these legal requirements over and above the advice in this guidance.
More information about these Scottish laws can be found at www.opsi.gov.uk/
legislation. Some English local councils and local authorities in Scotland also have
licensing requirements for UV tanning equipment, so operators must make sure
they are meeting local, legal requirements too.
This guidance contains general information for people who are responsible for
operating UV tanning facilities. Specific advice for customers based on current
expert medical opinion, is given on the poster UV tanning equipment
.
This leaflet only explains the health hazards of UV radiation as they are understood
at the moment. It does not give a list of all hazards found with operating UV tanning
equipment. For advice on other risks that could be encountered while operating
UV tanning equipment, eg electrical safety, manual handling or general health and
safety information, see the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk and the documents
detailed at the end of the leaflet.2-4
Information for UV tanning equipment operators
Legal responsibilities
Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA)5 and the Management
of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR),6 you, the UV tanning
equipment operator, must:
assess the risks caused by your work activity including those from exposure to UV radiation;
take measures to control, as far as is reasonably practicable, the risks;
tell your staff the results of your risk assessment. Make sure they are trained and competent in the operation and use of any tanning equipment; and
if you have five or more employees you must write down the main findings of the assessment.
Carrying out the risk assessment is your responsibility though you can seek help
and advice, from within your organisation or outside sources (eg consultants).
The Approved Code of Practice Management of health and safety at work:
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
6 contains further
information about legal responsibilities under the HSWA and MHSWR.
Assessing the risk of using UV tanning equipment
The purpose of your risk assessment is to help you make an appropriate decision
about what you need to do to prevent or control UV radiation exposure levels to
people working near or using your UV tanning equipment.
A risk assessment does not need to be long or complex, but you do need to work
through the following five steps:
Identify the hazards.
Decide who may be harmed and how.
Work out the risks and decide on actions.
Record your findings (if you employ five or more people) and act on them.
Review and monitor your risk assessment and regularly update it if necessary.
HSE’s leaflet Five steps to risk assessment
2 gives straightforward advice. HSE also
publishes example risk assessments to show what is expected. Both can be found
at www.hse.gov.uk/risk.
The consequences of exposure to the hazard of UV radiation, which can be
associated with running and/or using UV tanning equipment, are as follows.
Short-term effects
Burns.
Skin dryness and itching.
Eye irritation or conjunctivitis (where suitable goggles are not worn).
Customers becoming trapped if the equipment fails mechanically.
Long-term effects
Skin cancer.7-8
Cataracts (where suitable goggles are not worn).
Premature ageing of the skin, which will look coarse, leathery and wrinkled.
Who might be at risk?
You need to consider:
employees assisting customers;
maintenance staff carrying out repairs or servicing;
the customers using the equipment; and
other members of the public (adults and under-18s) on the premises.
You must inform your employees of the risk of operating and using UV tanning
equipment. To control the risk of exposure to UV radiation to your customers, we
advise you to provide them with the information on the poster.
Operating your UV tanning equipment safely
Following the advice in this section will help you to address the risks associated
with using UV tanning equipment. However, this is not a complete list and as a
result of your risk assessment, you may have identified other things that need to
be done.
You should have received information from the manufacturer or supplier on the correct operation of your UV tanning equipment, and should have familiarised yourself and any employees with it, and be following it. This information should include the correct lamps to use and the maintenance regime.
It is good practice to have trained staff present while customers are using your UV tanning equipment.
You should provide ongoing health and safety training for your staff to make sure they can correctly run the equipment, provide customers with information about the risks and assist as required.
It is good practice that you have effective procedures in place to provide immediate assistance to customers using your UV tanning equipment.
Make sure that children (under 18 years of age) accompanying adults, who are using UV tanning equipment, are not exposed to UV radiation.
If you are operating more than one piece of equipment in the same room, you are recommended to use screening between the units.
It is good practice that you make sure the equipment is cleaned and sanitised between customers.
When you are replacing UV tubes make sure the right type are fitted and reassess the exposure requirements of your customers when subsequently using the equipment. The BS EN standard on manufacturing UV tanning equipment should provide more useful information.9
Make sure your staff are aware of the risks to themselves from working with UV tanning equipment and how to reduce or avoid these risks.
It is good practice to keep training records for your staff.
It is good practice that you provide adequate eye protection (goggles) for customers and staff, when maintaining equipment.
When carrying out your risk assessment, you are advised to consider the advice of the World Health Organization and EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Products who have recommended that under-18s should never use UV tanning equipment. Further information on the advice of these organisations can be found at www.who.int and http://ec.europa.eu/health/index_en.htm.
HSE would like to thank the following organisations for their contributions to revising
this guidance.
Cancer Research UK.
Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment.
Sunbed Association.
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services.
Welsh Assembly Government.
Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland and Department of Health, Social Service and Public Safety Northern Ireland.
Scottish Government.
Department of Health.
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
Department of Communities and Local Government.
References
1 The International Agency for Research on Cancer and Working Group on
artificial ultraviolet (UV) light and skin cancer ‘The association of use of sunbeds
with cutaneous malignant melanoma and other skin cancers: A systematic review’Int J Cancer
2006 120 1116-1122
2 Five steps to risk assessment
Leaflet INDG163(rev2) HSE Books 2006 (single
copy free or priced packs of 10 ISBN 978 0 7176 6189 3) www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/
indg163.pdf
3 Maintaining portable electrical equipment in offices and other low-risk
environments
Leaflet INDG236 HSE Books 1996 (single copy free or priced packs
of 10 ISBN 978 0 7176 1272 7) www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg236.pdf
4 Essentials of health and safety at work
(Fourth edition) Guidance HSE Books
2006 ISBN 978 0 7176 6179 4
5 Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (c.37)
The Stationery Office 1974
ISBN 978 0 10 543774 1
6 Management of health and safety at work. Management of Health and Safety
at Work Regulations 1999. Approved Code of Practice and guidance
L21
(Second edition) HSE Books 2000 ISBN 978 0 7176 2488 1
7 Elwood J and Jopson J ‘Melanoma and sun exposure: An overview of
published studies’ Int J Cancer
1997 73 198-203
8 Gandini S et al ‘Meta-analysis of risk factors for cutaneous melanoma II.
Sun exposure’ Eur J Cancer
2005 41(1) 45-60
9 BS EN 60335-2-27:1997 Specification for safety of household and similar
electrical appliances. Particular requirements. Ultra-violet and infra-red skin
treatment appliances for household and similar use
British Standards Institution
HSE priced and free publications are available by mail order from HSE Books,
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downloaded from HSE’s website: www.hse.gov.uk.)
For information about health and safety ring HSE’s Infoline
Tel: 0845 345 0055 Fax: 0845 408 9566 Textphone: 0845 408 9577
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British Standards can be obtained in PDF or hard copy formats from the BSI online
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e-mail: customer.services@tso.co.uk Website: www.tso.co.uk (They are also
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www.opsi.gov.uk.
This leaflet contains notes on good practice which are not compulsory but
which you may find helpful in considering what you need to do.
This leaflet is available in priced packs of 10 from HSE Books,
ISBN 978 0 7176 6321 7. Single copies are free and a web version can be found
at: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg209.pdf.
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