An environmental health salon inspection on air quality is a check that the dust and vapour your work produces are being controlled the way the law and HSE guidance expect. The officer is not looking for a particular brand of extractor; they are looking for the controls, the paperwork and the habits described in HSE sheet SR13. Ravair supplies extraction equipment to UK salons, and this guide walks through what an inspector checks and how to have each item ready before they arrive.
The yardstick: HSE COSHH Essentials SR13, Nail bars and other beauty services. HSE says inspectors "may refer to this guidance," and that following it "will normally be doing enough to comply with the law." Read it before the visit, not after.
What will the inspector check first?
Whether there is extraction at the station, and where its intake sits. SR13's first equipment point is "Provide local exhaust ventilation (LEV) in the form of a downdraught table or a movable hood," with the client's nails "over the downdraught or as close to the extraction hood as possible." An officer will look at a working station, not a brochure: is the intake where the file is, and is it switched on?
They will then look at the room. SR13 asks for "a good standard of general ventilation," suggesting powered wall- or window-mounted fans for a through flow of clean air, and for extracted air to be "discharged to a safe place outside the building" or "correctly filtered before being returned." Expect questions about where your extractor's air goes and what the filter in it does. Under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, regulation 6(1), every enclosed workplace must be "ventilated by a sufficient quantity of fresh or purified air" - the room duty that sits alongside the station duty.
Which documents should be on the desk?
Three, and they answer most of the visit. First, your COSHH assessment: a written record of the products in use, how people are exposed and what controls apply. SR13 says it "will help you carry out COSHH assessments, review existing assessments, deliver training, and supervise," so an assessment structured around its headings is easy for an officer to follow.
Second, the extraction's thorough examination and test report. SR13 states that LEV systems "require a statutory 'thorough examination and test' (TExT)," done by a competent person "at least once every 14 months," with the employer keeping a record "for at least five years." A salon that owns extractors but cannot produce the report has the equipment and not the duty.
Third, the maintenance log: daily checks for damage before work, filter changes on the manufacturer's schedule, and any actions arising from the test. SR13 says a log book "is helpful in setting out the frequency of checking, maintenance or parts replacement." A dated list of filter changes is the simplest evidence that a control is actually working rather than merely present.
What about masks, gloves and skin care?
An inspector will notice if the salon's answer to dust is a box of masks. SR13 says respiratory protective equipment "is not normally needed" where extraction and ventilation are in place, and that face coverings "are not acceptable as a control measure" for nail bar dust and odours. Masks on every technician suggest the engineering controls are not doing their job.
Gloves and eye protection are different: SR13 asks for them "when topping up bottles" and "when handling chemicals and when filing," with single-use nitrile gloves acceptable if disposed of every time they come off. Skin care sits in the guidance too - warm water, mild cleansers, after-work creams - with the caution that creams "are not a substitute for gloves." Have the gloves, the eye protection and the hand-care products visibly at the station, not in a cupboard.
Will they ask about health surveillance and training?
Yes, and this is where salons are most often caught out. SR13 says employers "are required to carry out health surveillance" if workers use a product labelled "May cause sensitisation by skin contact" or "May cause sensitisation by inhalation," and should provide surveillance for asthma and dermatitis where there is a reasonable likelihood of either. Check the labels on your own shelf before the officer does, and if those phrases appear, be able to say which occupational health professional you have consulted.
Training is the other half. SR13 asks that workers are told the hazards of their work and "how to recognise early signs of asthma and dermatitis," and are trained in "working safely with hazardous substances; when and how to use controls; how to check they are working; what to do if something goes wrong." A signed training record with dates is enough; the absence of one is a finding. Our guide to what nail dust and vapour do to a technician covers the health side in plain terms.
What small habits make a visible difference?
The housekeeping items in SR13 are the ones an officer sees in the first minute. Caps back on containers "immediately after use," with the outside wiped clean. Products stored in a cool, dry, dark, ventilated place, only in the quantity you need. Contaminated wipes and files in "a lined, lidded bin," never an open basket. Work equipment and the work area cleaned daily, the rest of the room at least weekly. Spills absorbed and dealt with immediately, and never poured down the drain.
None of these costs money. All of them tell the inspector, before a single document is opened, that the salon understands the substances it works with.
How can Ravair help you prepare?
We supply the equipment that answers SR13's description of extraction: desktop and wall-mounted fume and monomer extractors with activated carbon stages for vapour, and in-desk, on-desk and flexible-arm dust extractors that put the intake at the nail. We keep replacement filters and carbon refills for every unit in stock, so the filter log has something to record.
What we do not do is your COSHH assessment, your thorough examination or your health surveillance - those are the salon owner's duties, carried out with the competent and occupational health professionals HSE describes. Ravair has been developing practical clean-air and energy products in the UK since 2015, and our approach is to say honestly what a unit will and will not do for your room.
Frequently asked questions
What does an environmental health officer check in a nail salon?
On air quality: extraction at the station with the nails over or close to the intake, general ventilation of the room, where extracted air goes and how it is filtered, the COSHH assessment, the LEV thorough examination report, filter and maintenance logs, PPE, health surveillance and training records.
Is a face mask enough for an inspection?
No. HSE sheet SR13 says respiratory protective equipment is not normally needed where extraction is in place and that face coverings are not acceptable as a control measure for nail bar dust and odours.
How often must extraction be tested for an inspection?
HSE says LEV needs a statutory thorough examination and test by a competent person at least once every 14 months, with records kept for at least five years. Daily checks and manufacturer-scheduled filter changes sit alongside that.
Do I need a COSHH assessment for a small salon?
Yes. COSHH applies wherever hazardous substances are used at work. SR13 is written to help nail bars carry out the assessment and is the reference an inspector uses.
What triggers health surveillance?
Any product labelled "May cause sensitisation by skin contact" or "May cause sensitisation by inhalation," and a reasonable likelihood of asthma or dermatitis in the workplace. SR13 says to consult an occupational health professional on the level required.
This article is general information, not health and safety or legal advice. Check current HSE guidance and take advice from a competent person on your own premises.
See the fume and monomer extractors we supply, or call 01892 750777 and tell us about your stations.
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