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COM(82)674
Vol.1982/0211

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(82)674 final
Brussels ,25October
-
T.(
V--. ir. •;/t.-" f'C -, ./
x.■ ■ ■y ■
SIXTH PROGRESS REPORT OF THE ADVISORY
.COMMITTEE ONSAFETY ,HYGIENE AND HEALTH
PROTECTION ATWORK (PERIOD :1981 )
(submitted tothe Council bythe Commission )
COM(82 )674 final

-1-
CONTKNTS
Pag-e
0 INTRODUCTION 3
1 MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE ,WORKING PARTIES AND RES^ICTED
GROUP 3
2 STRUCTURE AND OPERATION 3
2.0 STRUCTURE 3
2.1 OPERATION 4
2.1.0 Chairmanship 4
2.1.1 Work plan 4
2.1.2 Action initiated bythe Committee 5
2.1.3Preparatory meetings ................................. 5
2.1.4 Attendance atmeetings 5
2.1.5 Role oftheRestricted Group 6
2.1.6 Working Parties andexperts 6
2.1.7Substitutes inthe Working Parties 6
2.1*8Observers 6
2.1.9 Miscellaneous 7
3 MEETINGS 7
3.0 GENERAL REMARKS 7
3.1 NUMBER OPMEETINGS AND MTS DEVOTED TOMEETINGS :1978-1981 9
3.2 TREND OPNUMBER OPMEETINGS ,1976-1981 10
4 ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE 11
4.0 SUMMARY AND GENERAL MATTERS 11
4.1 CHARACTERISTICS 11
4.1*0 Ohjeot oftheactivities •••••• 11
4.1.1 Initiators 13
4*1«2Progress 13
5402/82EN

Page
4.2 DESCRIPTION OPACTIVITIES 13
(l)ïïoipe fJ...... 13
(2)Microwaves 14
(3)Information forworkers .............................. 14
(4)Removal from theworkplace ........................... 14
(5)Social fund 15
(6)Dangerous agents andprocesses ....................... 15
(7)Labelling guide 15
(8)Information "brochures ................................ 16
(9)Caroinogens 16
(10)Safety training ............................ 16
(11)Studies ,research ,information 17
(12)Supervision ofstudies andresearch 18
(13)Useofstudies andresearch 19
(14)Report ofthe Commission totheCouncil (action
programme ) 19
(1^)DGVwork plan 19
(16)Internal organization 20
5 ACTIVITIES OF THE WORKING PARTIES 20
6 ACTIVITIES OP THE RESTRICTED GROUP 22
7 SECRETARIAT 23
8 CONCLUSIONS 24
9 OUTLOOK FOR 1982 24
Annex I:List ofmembers ofthe Committee ,Working Parties andRestricted
Group (at31.12.1981 )
Annex II:Second report cfthe Commission tothe Council onthe implementation
ofthe action programme .
5402/82M

-3-
0. INTRODUCTION
Article 3oftheCouncil Deoiaion of27Juno 1974 cmthasetting up
ofanAdvisory Committee onSafety ,Hygiene andHealth Protection at
Work provides that 'the Committee shall produce anannual report of
itsactivities' and that 'the Commission shall forward thereport
totheEuropean Parliament ,theCouncil ,theEconomic andSocial
Committee andtheConsultative Committee oftheEuropean Coal and
Steel Community *•
Thesixth progress report ,fortheyear 1981 ,wa£compiled bythe
Secretariat and approved bythe Committee on«...
1. MEMBERSHIP OFTHE COMMITTEE .WORKING PARTIES AND PJ .5TRICTED GROUP
1.0 Asinprevious years ,themembership oftheCommitter andtheworking
parties remained stable .
1.1 Themembership oftheCommittee ,thethree Working Parties andthe
Restricted Group attheendof1981 isshown inAnnex 1
1.2 TheGreek representatives ,having been apointed only on17September
1981 (after theplenary meeting oftheCommittee ),were unable to
participate intheactivities ofeither theCommittee ortheWorking
Parties in1981 *
2. STRUCTURE AND OPERATION
2.0 STRUCTURE
Thestructure oftheCommittee andtheWorking Parties remained
unchanged in1981.
x)
1981 isthethird year ofthesecond term ofoffice ,which
expires on22November 1981.
5402/82EN

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2.1 . OPERATION
2.1.0 .Pollo'dng achange intheChairmanship ,theCommittee ,with the
approval ofthenewChairman ,setouttoimprove theefficiency
andclarity ofitswork .Accordingly ,itadopted amore 'policy -
orientated' approach ,both initsopinions onCommission projects
and inits ownproposals for action .
Inthe same context ,theCommittee concentrated more closely on
work planning ,inparticular onselecting priorities periodically
(annually )andrestricting thetime allotted forthetreatment
ofsubjects .
This approach should putanendtoasituation familiar inthepast ,
whereby thenumber ofrequests foraotion submitted bytheCommittee
sooutstripped DOV'slimited resources that considerable delays
were experienced before certain activities could becompleted .
Astart hasbeen made torectify this ,byselecting alimited
number ofspecific actions which will becompleted ina
reasonable time .
2.1.1 .Asaresult ofthis newapproach ,DGV/E(x)will each year (asfrom
1982 )present awork plan fortheimplementation oftheaction
programme oftheEuropean Communities onsafety andhealth at
work .(xx)
DGV'swork plan will enable the Committee toplan its own
activities better ,both inthe issuing ofopinions onactions
proposed byDGVand indeveloping its owninitiatives .
(x)Directorate "HeaLth and Safety "
(xx)Council Resolution of29June 1978 -OJC165of11July 1978 .
5402 /8XEN

-5-
2.1.2 .Asoan "be B«*«sn from the Table onpage 12,the Co-;*aittee
continued totake initiatives topromote specific actiors .
Anevent which occurred in1981 illustrates the importance whi:h
the Committee attaches toitsright toinitiate action .Ata
time when ,onthe one hand ,the Committee was preparing apre­
liminary opinion onnoise ,while onthe other hand DGVpreferred
toconsult other departments onadraft directive onnoise before
transmitting this draft tothe appropriate Woxldng Party ofthe
Committee ,and when inaddition ameeting oft'ds Working Party
onnoise was postponed ,the Working Party prot' ted vigorously -
inwriting ,and with the subsequent support of ieCommittee -
against the abovementioned circumstances ,interpreting them as
anattack onitsright toact.
2.1.3 *The workers' and employers' groups having found preparatory
meetings before each plenary meeting tobeindispensable for
the coordination and formation ofopinions ,apreparatory
meeting was organized forthefirst time in1981 forthe
representatives ofthenational governments ,attheir own
request .Thelatter group wanted inparticular tocompare
andclarify the opinions ofits members .
2.1.4 *Ingeneral ,attendance atthe meetings remained atavery
satisfactory level .However there was aslight decline in
attendance atworking party meetings atthe end ofthe year ,
which wasalso the endofthe second term ofoffice (x).
Such adrop occurs atthe end ofeaoh term ofoffice ,since
there are always afew members who,knowing that their term
ofoffice will not berenewed ,withdraw prematurely from
activities .
(z)Seefootnote topage 3*
5402/81 EN

2.1.5 .Thetendency intheprevious year toplace greater reliance
ontheRestricted Group (within thelimits ofitsresponsi­
bilities )"became even more pronounced .Oneparticular3y
important task carried out "bytheRestricted Group was an
interview with theMember ofthe Commission responsible for
the 'safety andhealth' action programme andforthe
Committee (seeitem 6.3.).
2.1.6 .Theagreement reached twoyears agowith theCommission to
invite avery limited number ofexperts tocertain Working
Party meetings where this wasabsolutely necessary inexcep­
tional cases wastaken upforthefirst time in1981 ,when
adraft study andareport onthe Gersaan system ofimplementing
research results were presented toWorking Party II.
2.1.7 .Theconcession granted tothemembers oftheWorking Parties by
theCommittee toappoint substitutes foratrial period (1980 )
wasextended until the endofthesecond term ofoffice ,i.e.
practically until thestart of1982 .
Allinall ,26$ofmembers ofthethree Working Parties appointed
such asubstitute .The latter attended meetings inexceptional
caseB only ,toensure continuity inthework .Given the rational
usemade ofthis concession ,itisprobable that the system will
beretained inthe next term ofoffice .
2.1.8 .Thefollowing organizations sent observers tomeetings inI98I :
-TheEuropean Foundation fortheImprovement ofLiving and
Working Conditions
-TheEmployers' Liaison Committee (x)
-TheEuropean Trade Union Confederation ,(*)
(x)tQtfacilitate coordination between members oftheGroup
5402/8!LEM

-7-
2.1.9 .Arequest bytheCommittee for arepresentative tobe
allowed toattend international symposia onproblems of
interest totheCommittee was refused bytheCommission
for financial reasons .
3. MEETINGS
3.0 . GENERAL REMARKS
3.O.O. Asthe table and graph atitems 3.1 and 3.2 show ,the
total number ofmeetings has become relatively stable
(disregarding thepeak in1979 ,with around 15meetings
and 25days devoted tothe meetings per year .
3.O.I. This number also seems torepresent the maximum possible
given present resources .
Itshould beadded that these have remained practically
unchanged for several years .
3.0.2 .Asin1980 ,theCommittee held only oneplenary meeting .
Itisfairly widely considered that oneplenary meeting per
year issufficient ,provided that theCommittee uses
itasfar aspossible fordecisions and conclusions
and that the Working Parties and Restricted Group
submit well-prepared draft opinions and proposals .
5402 /82/EN

-8-
3.0.3 .Since the Committee and the Working Parties clearly cannot
step uptheir activities byholding more meetings ,the
meetings available must beused tofull effect .This
ties inwith the desire for greater operating efficiency
mentioned atitems 2.I.O. and 2.1.1 .
5402 /82EN

3.1.NUMBER OPMEETINGS ANDNUMBER OPDATSDEVOTED TOMEETINGS -1970/19Ö1
NUMBER OPMEETINGS NUMBER OPDAIS DEVOTED TOMEETINGS
Commit tee a
Working Party I
Working Party II
Working Party III
Restricted Group
TOTAL1981 g1980
4(b)
16 141979
201978
151981
11
251980
8
241979
15
. •S
311978
10
25
(a)Preceded byapreparatory meeting oftheworkers' andemployers' groups (since 1979 )andoftherepresentatives
ofthenational governments (1981 ).
(b)Including aspeoial ,informal preparatory meeting between theChairmen oftheWorking Parties andtheChairman
ofthe Commit tee .

-10
20–
18-
16
14 -■
12 -■
10 -•'
8
6-■
4
?_i3.2.TKsMD 0PTHE HUMBER OF
MEETINGS ,
1976 TO198'X
f
i– - -"~Ί
/
.j...S,N»
/y"V
/ I
►
– ^-·sχ1
f -·>ν
«<*¿f
«rf»►*-
>·S•20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
-2
VO–J
osVO VO
<y>vO–J
vûvocoo
Total
.. Commit tee
Total Working Parties
5402/81EN

-11-
4. ACTIVITIES OFTHE COMMITTEE
4-0 . SUMMARY AND GENERAL REMARKS
The table onthe following page summarizes the activities ofthe
Committee under four headings .Certain activities have continued
from 1980 ,andothers will becontinued into 1982 .Although they
arenot allequally important ,the list nevertheless reveals the
workload ofthe Committee .
Itshould also beremembered that ,apart from theorganizational
matters ,allthese activities result directly orindirectly from
the 1st action programme ofthe European Communities onsafety and
health atwork (x).
4.1 . CHARACTERISTICS
4.1.0 .Object ofactivities
Half oftheactivities concern directives inonewayoranother ,
whether intheform ofpreparatory work ,opinions orfollow-up
work .
Aquarter oftheactivities oonsist of •policy-oriented 1requests ,
inasmuch astheCommittee submits totheCoonission overall requests
(with explanations tofacilitate understanding ),leaving thelegal
andtechnical details totheresponsible departments ofthe
Commission ,andreserving theright toissue anopinion onthe
final result .This applies toactivities 4»5»9wad10andis
arelatively newapproach compared with previous years .
(x)seefootnote topage 4«
5402/82EN

-12-
SUMMARY (andGROUPING )
ofactivities in
1981
OPINIONS COMPLETEDInitiator
(*)See
details
under 4.2
1 Draft directive onnoise M (1)
2 Proposal foradirective onmicrowaves COM (2)
3 Information for workers CC (3)
4 Removal from theworkplace CC (4)
5 Social fund CC (5)
OPINIO NSINPREPARATION
6 Draft directive ondangerous agents andprocesses COM (6)
7 Labelling guide (dir. 79/831/eEC) COM (7)
8 Information "broohures M (8)
9 Overall policy oncarcinogens COM (9)
10 Safety training atalllevels CC (10)
STUD
INFO ]EES-RESEARCH -
ÍMATION
11 Studies –research -information M (11)
12 System ofsupervision CC (12)
13 Use andgeneralization ofresults CC (13)
MISCELLANEOUS ACTIVITIES
(Organization )
14Second report ofthe Commission tothe Council onthe
implementation oftheaction programmeCC (14)
15 DGVwork plan M (15)
16 Internal organization ·
– .... – jCC (16)
(x)COMaCommission (inpractice ,DGV)
CC=Advisory Committee forSafety ,Hygiene andHealth Protection
atWork
Mmixed (COMandCCcombined )
5402 /82EN

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4-1.1 .Initiators ofactivities (seetable onprevious page )
Half ofthe activities were undertaken onthe sole initiative
oftheCommittee ,aquarter were proposed bytheCommission
departments andtheremaining quarter stem from joint ormixed
endeavours (Commission /Committee ).
4.1.2 .Progress
Theprogress made inrelation tothevarious activities is
described Tinder item 4*2 .
4.2 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OFACTIVITIES
(l)Directive onnoise
TheCommittee gave anopinion intwoparts onnoise :aprelimi­
nary opinion onnoise ingeneral (before becoming acquainted
with theCommission 'sdraft directive )andanopinion onthe
draft direction itself .
While theopinion shows theCommittee tobeunited onvarious
basic questions ,italso reveals widely differing opinions on
anumber ofessential aspects ,forexample thefact that the
directive isconcerned with noise perceived (health protection )
rather than noise emitted bymachinery ;admissible levels ;
measurement within orwithout ear defenders .
Theopinion ,whioh interms oftime alone represents themain
activity in1981 ,will beincorporated intheproposal fora
direotive tobetransmitted totheCouncil bytheCommission
in1982 .
5402/82EN

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(2)L'\recti veonmicrowaves
This proposal foradirective (OJC249of26September 1980 )
wasnot submit tedtotheCommittee before being transmitted
totheCouncil .With theapproval oftheCommittee ,Working Party I
therefore restricted its activities toaninformatory discussion
while advising its members tointervene atnational level if
necessary .
(3)Information forworkers
Onitsowninitiative ,theCommittee gave aunanimous opinion
oninformation forworkers onsafety andhealth atwork .
The opinion calls forthepreparation ofaflexible ,general
direotive onthis subject andgives numerous suggestions in
respect ofthecontents ,(z)
(4)Removal from theworkplace
Given that the question ofremoval ofthe worker from his work­
place forhealth reasons wastreated slightly differently inthe
framework directive (xx)andtheproposals fordirectives onlead
(xxx)andasbestos (xxxx ),andwith aview topromoting auniform
approach infuture directives ,theCommittee adopted aunanimous
position onthis problem .The Committee proposed that therelated
question offinancial compensation should notbetreated inthe
directives onhealth ,but should bepassed ontotheDCVdepart­
ments with speoific responsibility forthematter .
(x) This opinion having been oompleted ,andasalready agreed in
1979 (seeFourth Report ,item 4*3.0 ),theCommittee asked
theCommission toprepare anadditional instrument onworks
safety committees anddelegates ,onthebasis ofanexisting
opinion .
(xx) OJL327of3December 1980 .
(xxx)OJC324of28December 1979 .
(xxxx )OJC262of9October I98O .
5402/82

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(5)Euxopean Social Fund
TheCommittee unanimously approved arequest that inaddition
tothe existing conditions governing financial assistance for
national training andrehabilitation programmes ,theEuropean
Social Fund should also require such programmes todevote
adequate attention tosafety training .
This request will "beexamined byDOVduring therevision of
therules governing theoperation oftheEuropean Social Fund ,
preparations forwhich were already under way atthe endof
1981 .
(c)Dangerous agents andprocesses
Attheendof1981 ,Working Party Ihadalmost completed the
preparation ofanopinion onadraft directive onthis
subject ;this draft directive aims fortheprohibition
(most often ,inpractice ,the strict limitation )ofcertain
particularly dangerous agents orprocesses .
This draft opinion will consider thefollowing questions in
particular :isaseparate directive necessary forsuch a"ban ,
orwould it "bepreferable toaddtheprovisions onprohibition
totheframework directive ?}should authorizations ornoti­
fications berequired forexceptions totheprohibition ?;
howmany substances should beprohibited (with exceptions )in
the first instanca ?
(7)Labelling guide
Onthebasis oftheguide provided forinthe6thamending
directive ontheclassification ,packaging andlabelling of
dangerous substances (OJL259of15October 1979 )»Working
Party Ibegan work with aview topreparing anopinion on
thedraft guide proposed byDGXI.
5402/82

-16-
■:6}Ir:for?mtionbrochures
TLaOotMniitee unanimously agreed "that such brochures (provided
fox*Inthe action programme andintended toaccompany the
directives implementing theframework directive )should take
two forms for eaoh subject i
-afairly comprehensive and scientific brochure intended for
specialists ;
-asimple andpractical brochure forworkers .
In1981 theCommittee issued anopinion onacomprehensive
brochure onasbestos .Onthe basis ofthe work ofanadhoc
group consisting ofthree ofitsmembers ,Working Party III
prepared adraft brochure onasbestos forworkers .
Work onallthebrochures inpreparation hasbeen suspended
pending the Council 'sapproval oftheproposals fordirectives
onlead and asbestos .
(9)Carcinogens
Onthebasis ofadocument prepared byDGV/E,Working
Party Ibegan preparing adraft opinion onanoverall
policy inrelation tocarcinogens ;this work isnow atan
advanced stage .The draft opinion will payparticular attention
tosuch important aspeots asthe evaluation procedures and
criteria forthese substances ,thekind ofregulations needed
andtheform which this policy should take (internal document
orofficial document ).
(10)Safety train ing
TheCommittee instructed Working Party IIItostudy theproblem
ofsafety training atall levels .
BytheendofI98I ,this Working Party hadpractically completed
adraft resolution requesting theCommission tourge theMember
States totake thenecessary measures tointroduce ,improve or
5402 /82M

-17-
expand safety training inallbranches ofindustry and at
all levels ofeducation .
Aswith other 'policy-oriented' requests ,the resolution will
hesupplemented hyexplanatory notes defining itsscope and
will betransmitted totheresponsible departments ofDGV
forimplementation .
(il)Studie8 .research andinformation
-TheCommittee approved aprogramme ofstudies andresearch
ontheconstruction industry ,prepared byWorking Party II.
Theprogramme includes twopreliminary studies ,one onfalls ,
theother onbuilding ingeneral ,andthefollowing themes :
.Reactions ofworkers inresponse toworking conditions (staff
turnover ,absenteeism ,militant aotion ,agreements );
.Career ,high-stress jobs andphysically arduous work ;
•Ehvironmental factors (climate ,dust noise ,etc)andtheir
effects onhealth ;
.Effect ofworking uninterruptedly inallweathers (winter ).
Atthe endoftheyear inquestion thetwopreliminary studies
were almost completed andWorking Party IIhadstudied the
related interim reports .
-Theworking document 'Exposure limits ,measurements ,sampling
andoccasional exposure' ,will bestudied bytheCommittee at
the start of1982 .
-Astudy andinformation project wasundertaken byWorking
Party IIonthe following subjects *
.ECSC social andergonomie research ;
5402 /82M

-18-
.1.German system ofanalysing fatal accidents ;
Txjoanciljsia ofserious accidents intheiron andsteel industry ;
„TheCarman system oftranslating research results into practice .
-The Committee requested :
ainformation onresearch concerning asbestos substitutes ;
.alist ofalldirectives containing provisions onnoise .This list
wasdistributed inthefirst instance toWorking Party I.
(12)Supervision ofstudies andresearch
This problem ,which hasbeen raised inthepast ,wasraised again by
Working Party II.
TheCommission hasalready granted theCommittee afull sayinthefirst
phase (subject choioe andguidelines )andthefinal phase (evaluation
andexploitation )ofastudy orresearch projeot ;thedifficulty arises
intheintermediate phase ,whioh involves thechoice ofcontractor
(expert orinstitute )andtheexecution ofthestudy orreBearoh .
Certain members ofWorking Party II,inparticular theworkers'
representatives ,also want tohave effective control over this
intermediate phase ,asthey find thepresent arrangement ,whereby they
arekept informed ontheprogress ofthis phase bytheCommission or
thecontractor ,inadequate .Such control isforeign totheCommission 's
traditional practices and isnot easily -compatible with thenature of
thestudy orresearch contract .Attheendof1981 this problem had
still not been resolved .
5402/82EN

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(13) Use ofstudy and research results
Atthe request oftheCommittee ,Working Party IIexamined the
feasibility ofapplying the results ofcertain ECSC safety and
ergonomics research projects tothewhole ofindustry .
Although itisaccepted that certain subjects lend themselves to
■generalization' ,Working Party IIisfaced with twoproblems :
theECSC 'ssystem ofsimple dissemination cannot beapplied to
thewhole ofindustry ,and the legislative approach has notyet
been used for such matters .
This problem ofgeneralization will beexamined further in1982 .
(14) Report oftheCommission totheCouncil onthe implementation of
the action programme
The Committee urged theCommission toforward the second of
these reports .
The Committee isvery interested inthis report ,asitseems
that itisofparticular significance for the futur development
ofthe action programme .
The report isincluded atAnnex IIfor information purposes .
(15) DGVwork plan
With thepoints mentioned at2.1.0 and 2.1.1 inmind ,the
Committee asked DGV/Etodiscuss with theCommittee ,its
annual programme ofwork for the implementation ofthe
action programme .
5402 /82EN

-20-
Theplenary meeting oftheCommittee brought upanumber of
subjects for inclusion inthis plan ,and theRestricted Group
devoted ameeting toapreliminary discussion ofthe subject .
The plan (1982 )will besubmitted atthe start of1982 ,first
tothe Restricted Group and subsequently totheCommittee .
(16) Internal organization
-Inview ofthe tendency tohold only oneplenary meeting per
year theCommittee agreed that theRestricted Group should ,if
necessary ,hold more meetings ,while demanding asacorollary that
theCommittee should bekept adequately informed ofthe work of
the Restricted Group .
-Topermit the formulation ofopinions ,theCommittee and
Working Parties systematically applied theprinciple whereby
members' unsolicited opinions are neither officially distributed ,
nor translated ,nor annexed tominutes ,nor taken into consideration
unless they arepresented orally and discussed during ameeting ;
they may ,however ,belodged with the Secretariat for the record .
-Asregards the questions discussed with theMember ofthe
Commission responsible for social affairs ,see item 6.3 .
5. ACTIVITIES OFTHE WORKING PARTIES
5.0 The activities oftheWorking Parties have been discussed under
item 4.2 .
5.1 The following isabrief outline ofthe topics dealth with by
the Working Parties :
5402 /82EN

-21-
Seeitem 4c2 sub-item (..».)
W.P,Il-Direotive onnoise •••.•.(1)
-Direotive onaiorowavee •...(2)
–Direotive ondangerous agents
andprooesses •••.. ...(6)
-Direotive onalabelling guide .•(7)
-Overall policy onoaroinogens •••(9)
–W.P.II :–Studies and research
-organisation •••..•..(11)
-supervision ....•...(12)
-applioation ••••.•..(13)
-W.P.IIIt -Information forworkerB •...(3)
–Removal from theworkplaoe •.•(4)
-Europeaa Social Fund ••••*(3)
-Information brochures •••••(8)
-Safety training . (10)
5»2» Working Party Ispent much more time onstatutory instruments
proposed bytheCommission ;consequently ,itdidmore short-term
work and held most meetings .
Working Party IIisprimarily involved inlong-term work (studies .
andresearch )
Working Party III was thegroup most involved with theCommittee 'sown
initiatives and •policy-oriented *requests *
5.3. Thetendency oftheCommittee tooonoentrate more onpolicy than on
teohnioal detail wasalso refleoted intheWorking Psrtie ;swith the
result that less time wasoften spent disousclng asubject than in
thepast .
5402/82EN

-22-
6. ACTIVITIES OFTHE RESTRICTED GROUP
6.0 . The restricted Group continued toperform itsprincipal function
ofpreparing and organizing certain activities for the Committee
orthe Working-Parties .
6.1 . In1981 theRestricted Group decided for the first time :
a)not tostudy aproblem (theproposal for adirective on
(Xmulti-national undertakings )
b)tostudy only particular aspects ofaproblem (theproposal
stive
(xxx )xxfor adirective onmicrowaves and apublic health research
programme .
6.2 . The Restricted Group followed all theactivities described in
item 4.2 .and the following aspects deserve special mention :
-its approaches tothe Commission onthe subject ofthe
Committee 'sright ofinitiative ;
-itsmove towards collaborating inthepreparation ofDGV/E's
annual work plan (action programme ):
-its interview ,described inthe following paragraph .
6.3 . Atameeting with theCommissioner Richard whoisresponsible
for social affairs -and hence also for safety and health at
work and for the functioning oftheCommittee -the Restricted
Group expressed its disappointment atthe resources allocated
bytheCommission both toDGV/Eforthe implementation ofthe
action programme and tothework 6fthe Committee .
ίχϊOJC297 of15November 1980
(XX )OJC249 of26September 1980
(xxx )OJC291of12November 1981
5402 /82EN

-23-
The Commissioner assured the Restrxcted Group ,and hence
the Committee ,ofhis support for their policies ,but
indicated that hewould need togive further consideration to
the request for extra means ,which for themoment seemed to
constitute amajor problem .
Afurther meeting was proposed .
7. SECRETARIAT
7.0 . The Secretariat comprises twoAgrade officials and one Cgrade
official .
7.1 . The tendency oftheWorking Parties in1980 toask the Secretariat ,
working either alone orincooperation with various meirbers ,to
prepare draft opinions ordraft intermediate opinions (instead of
drafting them themselves inmeetings )aswell asdiscussion
documents ,became even more pronounced in1981 (for example ,in
connection with activities (3), (4), (5), (9)and (10)).
7.2 . Asinthepast ,the Secretariat was not always able tomeet
official deadlines forconvening meetings ,nor todisseminate
all the translations ofthe documents involved for every
meeting .
5402 /82EN

-24-
8. CONCLUSIONS
8.0 . Taken asawhole ,1981 was anaverage year ;itwould seem that
the level ofactivities and functioning has reached themaximum
achievable .
8.1 . After three years ofimplementing the action programme -andwith
only one year ofthe four-year period togo-itmust besaid that
the achievements sofar are only partial ,and atall events below
what the Committee would have liked .
8.2 . The Committee still considers that ithas insufficient resources
(Xtodischarge its tasks asdefined bythe Council and for the
implementation ofthe action programme .
8.3 . The Committee again (xx)urges that theCommission 'scontribution
bestrengthened bydelegating considerably more work tooutside
agencies (contracts ,consultants ),tocompensate fortherestrictions
onthedevelopment oftheCommission 'sowndepartments .
8.4 . Asregards the support given byDGV/EtotheCommittee (see
item 4.2 .(13)), ithoped that communication canbestill further
improved leading toacloser working relationship .
9. OUTLOOK FOR 1982
9.0 . With the continuation ofthe new operating methods described earlier
and the introduction ofawork plan forDGV,itistobehoped
that the activities will progress onaclearer ,better organized
and more regular basis .
OJL185of9July 1974 ,page 15,Article 2.
(XX)See fifth progress report ,point 8.3 .

-25-
9.1 . 1982 will see the effective entry ofthe Greek representatives
into theCommittee and the Working Parties .
9.2 . The renewals oftheterms ofoffice intheCommittee and subsequently
intheWorking Parties ,should becompleted byMay intheplenary
meeting .
9.3 . In1982 the important question will bethe renewal ofthe action
programme .
5402 /82EN

u
Bilag x-Anlage I
Appendix I-Annexe I
AlLegato i-Bijlage !
Παραρτημα I
MEDLEMMER
MITGLIEDER
MEMBERS
MEMBRES
MEMBRI
LEDEN
MEAH
Repraesentanter for regeringen
Regie rungsvertre ter
Representatives ofthe Government
Représentants dugouvernement
Rappre sentanti del govemo
Vertegenwoordigers van deRegering
μέλος που εκπροσωπεί κυβέρνηση
Reprae sentanter forarbejdstagernes faglige organisationer
Vertreter der Arbeitnehmerorganisationen
Representatives oftråde unions
Représentants des organisations syndicalea detravail uews
Rappresentanti delle organizzazioni sindacali deilavoratori
Vertegenwoordigers van deorganisaties van werknemers
l-iéAoc ;nou Ènnpoouneï fpvaCónevovj
Repraesentanter forarbejdsgivernes faglige organisationer
Vertreter derArbeitgeberorganisationen
Representatives ofemployers' organizations
Représentants desorganisations syndicales d'employeurs
Rappresentanti delle organizzazioni sindacali deidatori dilavoro
Vertegenwoordigers van deorganisaties van werkgevers
μέλος πούέχπροσωπεί έργοδότες

t
riv .'nae udvalq -Beratender Ausschu3s -Advisory Committee -Comité consultatif
Οοητΐίαίο σοηβιιΐϋυο -Ηααάρβνβηά ^ΟΓπΐίβ –Ευα&ουλευτι κη "Επιτροπή
Titu lazres
Faste medlemmer
Mitglieder
Full members
Membri titolari
Gewone leden
Πληρη ΜεληSupp l'ants
Supp Leanterne
Stel Ivertre ter
Alternate members
Membri supplenti
Plaatsvervangende
leden
AvanAripuiiaTLKa MéÅnTitulaxres
Faste mediermier
Mitglieder
Full members
Membri titolari
Gewone leden
nArjpr )M£Ar )Suppleants
Supp leanterne
Stel Ivertre ter
Alternate members
Membri supplenti
Plaatsvervangende
leden
Αναπληρωματικά Μέλη
België/BeIgique
Danmark
B.R. Deutschland
France
Ireland
Italia
Luxembourg
Nederland
United KingdomM.BENS
Hr.SAtflLD
Herr KLIESCH
Mme LAMIRAND
Mr .KENNEDY
Sig .FREDELIA
M.SCBUSTER
Dhr .DEROOS
Mr .MARTINM.PAQUE
Hr.LAURBERG
Herr OPFERMANN
M.BABUSIAUX
Mr .MORRISON
Sig .FRANCIOSI
M.MOUSEL
Dhr .RIKMENSPOEL
Mrs .BARGERM.DENO *TE
Fr .JENS J
Herr WAT 'Si
M.COUTL ?LT-
DURAf .
Mr .CONRO -
Sig .FIO ?
M.NOESEL ,
Dhr .sia :..*
Mr.NELLOM.GREGOIRE
Hr.BLOU
Herr WOLFF
M.BELHOTE
Mr. MURPHY
Sig .POTI
M.DEMOTE
Dh*.WINK
Mr. BLACKADDER
Β.
België/BeIgzque
Danmark
B.R.Deutschland
France
Ireland
Itaha
Luxembourg
Nederland
United KingdomM.THYRE
Hr.ELIKOFER
Herr RONSTANTY
M.ATLAN
Mr.CASSELLS
Sig .STANZANI
M.RECH
Dhr .DEBRUIN
Mr.JACQUESM.KENNES
Hr.NIELSEN
Herr KIENAPPEL
M.RØUXEL
Mr.O'HALLORAN
Sig .LELI
M.DUNKEL
Dhr .BURINGH
Mr.HAMILTONM.SILDN
rr.CHRI£?EM£3H
Herr PARTIJCKL
M.GUILLOM
Mr.DALY
Sig .LOCMI3I
M.EHSES
Dhr .BOGENES
Mr .LLOYDM.OOLLE
rr.SVANBOLT
Herr GfaOMBR
M.DIAZ
Mr.xnriNG
Signon GLORIA
M.KLXIN
Dhr .UUMJL'IZ
Mr.PARRY
C.
België /BeIgique
Danmark
B.R. Deutschland
France
Ireland
Italia
Luxembourg
Nederland
United KingdomM.VAN GAEVER
Hr.H01J »
Herr MEYER
M.CAVE
Mr .RICE
Sig .GARLANDA
M.RAUCHS
Dhr .DEN BOER
Mr .AMISM.CLOQUET
Hr.RASMUS SEN
Herr WINCKLER
M.FREDERIC -
MOREAU
Mrs .CARROLL
Sig .PALLADINO
M.BERWEILER
Mevr .DEQUANT
MS.MACKIEM.CORDY
HT.NYGAARD
Herr MÛLLKR
M.TASSIN
Mr .CLARKE
Sig .BUSSOTTI
M.OLINGER
Mej .DEMEESTER
Mr.EBERLIEM.UKMAHD
HT.LINIUS
Herr VOH HASSELL
M.DBASE
Mr.CASSIDY
Sig .GBISELLI
M.BEPFQRT
Dhr .RORTEN
MS .SWIADXDWSKA

η
Arbej dsgruppe I-Arbeitsgrup^e I-Working Party I-Groupedetravazl I
Gruppo dilavoro I-Werkgroep I ■•uóóa épvqòlqc ,I
Tekniske ogforschriftsmaessige aspekter iforbindelse med forebyggelse ogbeskyttelse
Technische Aspekte vend V orschriften der Unfallverhiitung vend des Gesvcndheitsschutzes
Technical protective measures andregulations relating tohealth andsafety atwork
Aspects techniques etrigleimentaires delaprevention etdelaprotection
Aspetti tecnici enormativi della prevenzione edella protezione
Techmsche enreglementaire aspecten van deongevallenpreventie engezondheidsbescherming
Τεχνικά προοτατευτικά μέτρα χαίκανονιομοΓ Αναφορικά μετηνυγεία καίτηνάοφάλεια
στόν τόπο έργαοίας .
België/BeIgique
Danmark
Bundesrepub lik
Deutsch land
France
Ireland
Italia
Luxembourg
Nederland
United KingdomM.BENS
Br .SAXILD
Herr HORNEFFER
M.MAIN
Mr .KENNEDY
Sig .FIORE (xx)
M.SCHUSTER
Dhr .RIKMENSPOEL
Mrs .BARGERΒ
M.SILON (X)
Hr. ELIKDFER
Herr PARTIKEL
M.LEVY
Mr.O1SULLIVAN
Sig .STANZANI
M.EHSES
Dhr .BURINGH
MT.JACQUESC
M.CORDY
Hr.FALK
Herr HARTMANN
M.CAVE
Mr.CLARKE (xx)
Sig .GARLANDA
M.OLINGER
Dhr .DEN BOER
Mr. EBERLIE
(x)Président
(xx)Vice-président

rrejasgruppe II-Arbei .tsgruppe II-Working Party II-Groupe detravail II
Gruppo dzlavoro II-Werkgroep II 'OUÓÓQ ÈPVAOUAI ,N
Statxstvk ogForakning
Statistik undForschung
Statistics and research
Statist-iquea etrecherchea
Statistiche erioerche
Statiatiek enondevzoek
ETaxidTtxri >taCIpeuva
A B C
België/BeIg-ique M.DEGRKVE M.THYRE M.CORDY
Danmark Fr.JENSEN Fr.SVANHOLT Hr.GRUNNET
Bunde arepubtik HAGENKOTTER Herr KIENAPPEL Herr BASTONGDeut8chland
France M.MOYEN M.GUILLON (XX) M.FREDERIC -MOREAU
Ireumd Mr. 01HALLORAN Mrs. CARROLL
Italia Sig .FREDELLA Sig .T.KT.I Sig .RIMA
Luxembourg M.DEMUTH M.KLEIN M.RAUCHS
Nederland Dhr .LIGTERINGEN Dhr .SCHMITZ Dhr .DEN BOER (x)
United Kingdom Mr.NEILD (XX) mr.OWEN Mr.NASH
(x)Président
(xx)Vice-président

ν
'-ejdsgruppe III-Arbeitsgruppe III -Working Party III -Group edetravail III
Gruppo dilavoro III-Werkgroep III - >ncióa épyaofae in
'bejdsmarkedets parters rolle ,problemer iforbindelse meduddannelse oginformation
die derSozialpartner ,Ausbildungs -undInformationaprobleme
>leofboth sides ofindustry 3problems oftraining andinformation
îledespartenaires sociaux ,problèmes deformation etd'information
iolo delle parti sociali ,problemi diformazione ed'informazione
>Ζ.ναηάβεοοταΐβ ρατϊηβνβ ,ορίβτάΐηρ βηυοο^ΐοΗΐίης
^Αον ,τωνκοινωνικών εταίρων ,προβλήματα εκπαιδεύσεων καίένημερώοεως
Β
België/BeIgique
Danmark
Bundesrepub lik
Deutschland
France
Ireland
Italia
Luxembourg
Nederland
United KingdomM.NUYTS M.KENNES
Hr.OVERGARD -HANSEN Hr.ELIKDFER
Herr ANZINGER
M.JACOB
Mr. CONROY
Sig .FIORE
M.SCHUSTER (xx)
Dhr .VOS
Mr. WATSONHerr KONSTANT !
M.CHAVROT
Mr .CASSELLS
Sig .LUCIANI
M.RECHM.CORDY
Hr.VON GRUMBKOW
Herr VON HASSELL
M.TASSXN (xx)
Mr.RICE
Sig .NASONI
M.MARGUE
Dhr .DEBRUIN (x)Mej.DEMEESTER
Mr.HAMILTON Mr.NASH
(x) Président
(xx)vice-président

M
Restricted Group -Organe restreint -Organo ristretto -Klein Corrrite
M. SILON
Sig .FIORE
M. CLARKE
Dhr .DEN BOER
M. GUILLON
Mr.NEILD
Dhr .DEBRUIN
M. TASSIN
M. SCHUSTER

COMMISSION OFTHE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
%
February 1982
Second Report from the Commission to the Council onthe
Action Programme ofthe European Communities on
Safety and Health atWork
(Financial years 1980 -1981 )

CONTENTS
introduction
I.The Action Programme
A.Industrial accident and occupational disease aetiology Research .
B.Protection against dangerous substances .
C.Prevention ofthe dangers and harmful effects ofmachines .
D.Monitoring and inspection .Improvement ofhuman attitudes .
II.Implementation ofthe action programme .
III .Future oftheaction programme .
5096 /82EN

"sr
introducli on
This isthesecond report ontheimplementation oftheAction Programme
oftheEuropean Communities onSafety andHealth atWork . (Council
Resolution of29June 1978 ,O.J. C165of11July 1978 ).
Thefirst report (*)gave abroad outline oftheobjectives ofand
action tobetaken inconnection with theprogramme anddescribed
thefirst steps taken inthefield ofsafety andhealth atwork .
Itisnotnecessary torepeat these general points andweshall restrict
ourselves here .towhat has been achieved inthe time between the two
reports despite the lack ofmoney which did ,inmany cases ,slow down
theprogress oftheprogamme .
Theaction programme started immediately after ithad been accepted
bytheCouncil with theimplementation ofmeasures toprotect
people against dangerous substances (Actions 3-7).Itwasonly later ,
particularly during thefinancial year under review ,that itwas
possible totackle further work more specifically related tosafety
atwork .
I.The Action Programme
This report follows theorder oftheactions listed intheprogramme .
A.Industrial accident and occupational disease aetiology research
Actions 1and 2
Inview ofthe shortage ofstaff attheStatistical Office of
theEuropean Communities ,ithas not yet really been possible
tobegin compiling Community statistics onindustrial accidents
for all branches ofactivity .
However ,considerable progress has been recorded inthree branches
-building ,agriculture and sea fishing .
Inthe case ofthe building industry ,analysis ofthe causes
ofaccidents has shown that falls are largely responsible and
that working conditions are ofgreat importance .
Theresults ofsurveys intheagricultural sector are still
too fragmentary tobeused asabasis forpreventive measures .
Itnevertheless appears that there are aconsiderable number
offalls ,particularly from agricultural machinery .Thebasis
forcooperation established with theWorking Party onHealth
andSafety oftheJoint Committee ontheSocial Problems of
Agricultural Workers should mean that considerable progress
will bemade from now on .
*)Com (80)32final

-sÇ
The Joint Committee responsible for the social problems associated
with sea fishing has formany years been systematically recording
thecircumstances under which accidents occur .Analysis of
the information forms has just started inclose collaboration
with this committee .
The survey ofthe causes ofserious accidents inthe iron and
steel industry launched intwoindustrial areas intheCommunity
has continued and ,inthecase ofone area ,has been completed .
Theresults show clearly howuseful these surveys are for the
organization ofpreventive measures .Contact has been made
with institutes specializing inoccupational safety which already
carry out surveys ofthis kind atnational level ,with aview
tomaking useofexisting data onaCommunity basis ;these will
beabetter guide fortheorganization ofmeasures toprevent
accidents than traditional general statistics .Theadvantage
ofthese surveys isthat they show the industrial sectors at
risk objectively andquantitatively .
Research .Twopreparatory studies onthe building industry
were carried out in1981 .
The first covered falls inthis industry .The second was more
general ,theaim being toassess working conditions .
TheCommission has looked into these studies and thepreparations
^oftheAdvisory Committee onSafety ,Hygiene andHealth Protection
atWork and isdrawing uparesearch programme onthe building
industry .
Inthe longer term ,butwith the same objectives inmind ,preparations
are being made for amore general research programme onall
industrial branches .Astudy onthis ,entitled 'Scientific
and technical basis for aCommunity research programme onsafety
and health atwork' ,isabout tobecompleted .
B.Protection against dangerous substances
Inconnection with action inthis field ,the Council has adopted
the following two directives .
1.Council Directive of27November 1980 onthe protection of
workers from the risks related toexposure tochemical ,
physical andbiological agents atwork (*).
This Directive covers all chemical ,physical and biological
agents used inindustry and includes both short -andlong-
term measures .
The short-term measures are information for workers and appropriate
monitoring oftheir health .
*)Official Journal L327 of3December 1980

-*>-
In "the long term ,the Member States must take technical measures to
ensure tr&t the exposure ofworkers toagents isavoided orkept at
asiaw alevel ;-sisreasonably practicable ;provision ismade for
14measures ,plus five additional measures for the 11agents inthe
Annex
The Directive also states that individual proposals for directives
will besubmitted bythe Commission tothe Council for these 11
agents .
With this inview ,twoproposals fordirectives onlead (*) and
asbestos (**) were submitted in1979 and 1980 (Action 5);priority
isnow being given tothe remaining agents :acrylonitrile ,arsenic ,
benzine ,cadmium ,mercury ,nickel ,chloroform ,paradichlorobenzine
and carbon tetrachloride .
On28July 1982 .having considered the opinions ofthe European
Parliament (***) andthe Economic andSocial Committee (****), the
Council adopted the Directive onthe protection ofworkers from
harmful exposure tometallic lead andits ionic compounds atwork
(first individual directive under the terms ofArticle 8of
Directive 80/IIO7/EEC)(*****).
2.Council Directive onthe ma.jor-accident hazards ofcertain industrial
activities (*♦****)
This Council Directive of24June 1982 relates both tothe action
programme onthe environment andtothe action programme onsafety
and health atwork .
The main aim ofthe Directive istoprevent the major accidents which
could becaused bycertain industrial activities and tolimit their
effects onthe environment .
The Directive establishes asystem for the control ofindustrial
activities involving dangerous substances inquantities exceeding
certain limits byrequiring the manufacturer tosubmit tothe competent
authorities anotification ,the form and content ofwhich are fixed .
Asregards thesite and the persons working onthesite ,the Directive
obliges manufacturers toprovide such persons with information ,
training and equipment inorder toensure their safety .Inaddition ,
for more dangerous industrial activities the manufacturer must prepare
emergency plans ,including the provision ofsafety equipment ,alarm
systems and resources available for use inside the establishment .
Member States are required toinform the Commission ofmajor accidents
and ofthe name ofthe organization which might have relevant information
onsuch accidents and which isable toadvise the competent authorities
ofthe other Member States which have tointervene inthe event ofsuch
anaccident .The Commission istoset uparegister containing asummary
*)O.J. C324 of28.12.1979
*»)O.J. C262 of9.10.1980
***) O.J. C101of4.5.1981 ,p.14
****) O.J. C300of18.11.1980 ,p.22
*****) O.J. L...
******) 0.J.L...

ofthemajor accidents which have occurred within theterritory ofthe
Member States ,including ananalysis ofthecauses ofsuch accidents ,
experience gained andmeasures taken ,toenable theMember States to
usethis information forprevention purposes .
Action 4
Aworking document with information which could beused foraCommunity
policy oncarcinogenic substances attheworkplace hasbeen drawn up
andisnowbeing examined bytheAdvisory Committee onSafety ,Hygiene
and Health Protection atWork .
Dangers ofmacrowave radiation
Inconnection with theprotection ofworkers agains physical
agents ,theCommission submitted tothe Council on26June 1980
aProposal for aDirective (*)laying down basic standards for
thehealth protection ofworkers and thegeneral public against
the dangers ofmicrowave radiation .
C.Prevention ofthe dangers and harmful effects ofmachines
Action 8-Noise and vibrations
Several studies have been made ofthe correlation between the
risk ofhearing damage and exposure tonoise ,the problems
ofindustrial audiometry and thehearing risks due tofluctuating
and impulse noise .Another isinprogress ontheproblem of
the labelling ofnoisy equipment used atwork .
The Commission departments are drawing upaProposal for adirective
ontheprotection ofworkers agains the risks ofexposure to
noise .The necessary consultations are inprogress .
Astudy onthe health effects ofvibrations atwork isnearing
completion .
Action 9
Twostudies (**) have been undertaken tocompare various aspects
ofthe application ofthe principles ofaccident prevention
inthedesign ,construction and use ofindustrial equipment .
The results will beavailable during 1982 and will complement
those quoted under Action 1.One proposal istoestablish
specifications forcertain types ofagricultural equipment or
plant .
Atwo-part programme ontheepidemiology ofrespiratory diseases
inagriculture isreaching completion .Astudy conducted in
eight Community countries onthe risks towhich agricultural
workers are exposed has shown that the data available and the
way inwhich they are interpreted vary considerably and this
may give afalse impression ofthe risk factors where health
isconcerned .
~)Official Journal C249of26September 1980 .
**)-Comparative study ofnational procedures fortheapproval
ofmachines for safety purposes
-Comparative study oftheregulations intheCommunity ./
countries onoccupational safety andtheinclusion ofsafety
considerations inthevarious stages ofdesign ,production
and use .

-ψ-
Afield study toassess thehealth ofgroups ofrural workers
has been conducted intwo countries .
Itishoped that these studies will make auseful contribution
tothework inprogress toimprove statistical methodology
(cf.Action 1).
Ergonomics
For many years theCommission has been doing considerable work
inthe field ofergonomics with its sponsorship ofECSC research
projects .
Although this work covers the coal and steel industries ,there
are aspects ofitwhich could beapplied more generally .
Examples are items such asthe following :
-the adaptation ofdata processing tonew technology ;the
adaptation ofmicroprocessors tooffice work ;
-thehandling ofheavy loads .This could beadapted specifically
tobuilding and agriculture ;
-cooling ofahot environment .This information isapplicable
toall hotworkplaces ,e.g. intheglass-making industry ;
-the use ofindividual protective devices ;
-research into thephysiological stress associated with thework .
Itshould benoted that in1981 the Commission conducted aseries
ofstudies inconnection with ergonomics :
-thepossible contribution ofergonomics tothedesign ofmonitoring
andwarning systems inprocessing industries such asthepetro­
chemical industry ;
-the problems associated with the display ofinformation ona
cathode-ray screen ;
-ways inwhich ergonomics canhelp toensure safe andhealthy
environments andworking conditions where new technology has
been applied toexisting installations ;
-assessment oftheergonomic stress associated with unavoidable
additional tasks resulting from theintroduction ofremote
control and robqts into industrial technology ;
-functional assessment ofthe disabled inrelation tothe tasks
created bynew auxiliary microelectronic systems .

Monitoring and inspection -improvement ofhuman attitudes
Action 12-Special monitoring
Because oftheextended use ofsubcontracting inindustry
formaintenance andrepaires forexample ,and inbuilding
andconstruction ,ithas become urgent andnecessary to
compare national provisions for themonitoring oftheworkers
involved .
Aninitial meeting onthesubject was held in1981 and a
Community study (*)onsubcontracting which hadbeen completed
was used .
Action 13-Organization ofinspection
Following ameeting ofnational experts itwas decided that
in1982 acolloquium should beorganized onthepart tobe
played bytheworks inspector inthe improvement ofsafety .
Preparatory work for this colloquium began in1981 .The
Commission hopes tolearn somethin from experience atnational
level andregards works inspection asbeing ofprime importance
ifahigh level ofsafety istobeachieved .
During acourse forworks inspectors inDenmark (Jirfrlunde )
in1981 ,the need for more coordination between Member States
ondangerous substances was discussed .
ItisuptotheCommission totake action toavoid the adoption
ofincompatible national systems .
Action 14-Training and information onsafety
Aseminar was held inApril 1980 for experts from the Community
countries tocompare university health and safety teaching
programmes and methods .
The aimofthis colloquium was also toexchange information
onthe objectives and contents ofcourses onsafety training .
Itbrought tolight thehigh degree ofsimilarity ofthe
subjects taught and the impact ofnational legislation on
what was taught .
Twoaspects emerged :theneed totrain both thespecialists
required byfirms and the teachers and members ofthe
inspectorates .
Work inthis important sector iscontinuing and astudy of
the technical and practical aspects ofsafety training in
universities etc.,has been completed .
The data from this study will serve asabasis for the colloquium
in1982 the aim being toestablish theaction theCommission
should take inthis field .The main purpose istodefine
guidelines for safety training atuniversity level .
*)collaboration between amain undertaking
(contractor )andsecondary firms (sub-contractors )

-to-
II.Implementation ofthe Action Programme
Asindicated inthe first report there isconstant cooperation
intheimplementation oftheaction programme between the
Commission andtheAdvisory Committee onSafety ,Hygiene and
Health Protection atWork and itsworking parties .Thethree
working parties have been maintained .
Ill .The future oftheAction Programme
Thecouncil Resolution of29June 1978 ontheAction Programme
oftheEuropean Communities onSafety andHealth atWork expresses
"thepolitical will totake ,inthekeeping with theurgency
ofthematter andbearing inmind what isfeasible atnational
andCommunity level ,themeasures required sothat between
now and theendof1982 thefollowing actions inparticular
can beundertaken ".
After the first report ontheAction Programme ,andparticularly
during 1981 ,theCommission embarked upon anumber ofactions
which had previously not been possible .
Specific examples are activities under theheading ,Industrial
accident andoccupational disease aetiology -Research (Actions
1and 2),Prevention ofthedangers andharmful effects of
machines (Actions 8and 9)andMonitoring andinspection -
improvement ofhuman attitudes (Actions 12,13and 14).
The resources have not bowever ,always been available toimplement
and complete all the work and some tothese activities have
only just started .
TheCommission intends tocontinue these and adapt them toindustrial
requirements onthebasis ofasecond action programme for 1983 following
onfrom the first .