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As part of the sixth revision of Directive 2004/37/EC Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work, the European Commission is proposing new measures to the European Parliament and the Council to further protect workers exposed to dangerous substances.
New exposure limits
In a press release dated 18 July, the Commission recommends setting new exposure limits for the following substances:
- cobalt and inorganic compounds, commonly used in battery production and in magnet or hard metal manufacturing processes (proposed limit: 0.01 mg/m³);
- polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), commonly found in steel, iron and aluminum production (proposed limit: 0.00007 mg/m³);
- 1,4-dioxane, often used as a solvent in chemical and textile production, or in household detergents (proposed limit: 7.3 mg/m³).
To enable the industries and sectors concerned to adapt to these new measures, transitional limits have also been specified.
Inclusion of welding fumes
The Commission has also requested that welding fumes be included in the scope of the directive. Welding fumes can contain substances classified as carcinogenic, such as chromium, nickel and cadmium compounds. For the Commission, “Classifying welding fumes at EU level would ensure more legal clarity, which would improve implementation of the existing EU rules.“.
Expected impact on the health of European workers
The proposals are the result of close collaboration between the social partners, the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Committee for Risk Assessment and the Commission’s Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work (ACSH). “Overall, the preferred options are expected to prevent 1 676 lung cancer cases and 18 912 non-cancer cases over 40 years. These ill-health cases prevented would represent savings to governments and businesses totalling up to EUR 1.16 billion“.
These proposals must now be examined by the European Parliament and the Council. Once the final text has been adopted, Member States will have two years to transpose the directive.
