Find hexavalent chromium, remove it, and prove it has gone
Chromium (VI) forms inside hot industrial insulation, where no one can see it. We test for it, remove it at source, and give UK duty-holders the evidence their COSHH duty requires.
On-site across Great Britain. The same specialists from first sample to final certificate.
What we do
Most sites start with research and analysis, then move through the remaining services as the evidence directs. Each service stands on its own.
Cr6 research and laboratory analysis
On-site rapid testing and laboratory confirmation of chromium (VI) contamination.
Substitution
Replacing chromate-forming insulation with alkaline and alkaline-earth-metal-free materials.
Decontamination
Controlled clean-up of contaminated components and structures before substitution.
Disposal
Compliant handling and disposal of chromate-contaminated hazardous waste.
Why chromium (VI) matters
Hexavalent chromium is not a contaminant that arrives on site. It forms in place, above 300 °C, where high-temperature insulation meets chromium-bearing steel. The result, calcium and sodium chromate, is carcinogenic by inhalation and by skin contact, and it is usually hidden inside insulation where no one can see it.
- Classification
- Carc. 1B · H350 · H317 · H410
- Forms above
- 300 °C
- Exposure limit
- 0.05 mg/m³ (8-hour TWA, HSE EH40)
H410 also classifies chromium (VI) as very toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects, so contaminated material is an environmental hazard as well as a health one.
Under COSHH, duty-holders must assess and control exposure to chromium (VI). Without testing, the risk is invisible and the duty cannot be evidenced.
Where chromates occur
Anywhere insulation runs hot against chromium-bearing metal, chromium (VI) can form. These are the settings where we are most often called in.
- Combined heat and power (CHP) engines
- Power stations and turbine halls
- Gas and steam turbines
- Standby and emergency generators
- Manufacturing process heat and furnaces
- Biogas plants
Training and certification
Awareness of chromium (VI) is part of the duty to control it. Our online course certifies that your team can recognise the risk and act on it. The quiz must be passed at 100%, so the certificate means something.
The specialists
Chromium (VI) sits where occupational safety, sustainable insulation and hazardous-waste handling meet. We bring those disciplines together, so the advice you act on is complete.
- Lead specialist
- Stephan Effinowicz
- Disciplines
- Occupational safety (SiFa), fire protection, environmental protection and energy management
- Laboratory standard
- NEN 5617:2022
Working alongside
- Occupational Safety Effinowicz
- Cleansulation B.V.
- Kavarmat, The Cleansulation Company
- Hopes Generation Ltd
Know what you are dealing with
A site assessment turns an invisible risk into evidence you can act on, and a record that stands up to scrutiny.