25. 11.82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 308/11 
Proposal for a Council resolution on a second programme of action of the European 
Communities on safety and health at work 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 4 November 1982) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaties establishing the 
European Communities, 
Having regard to the draft resolution submitted by 
the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the Council resolution of 21 January 1974 
concerning a social action programme (') provides for 
the establishment of an action programme on safety 
and health at work; 
Whereas, under Article 2 of the EEC Treaty, the 
Community shall have among its tasks, by 
establishing a common market and progressively 
approximating the economic policies of Member 
States, that of promoting throughout the Community 
a harmonious development of economic activities, a 
continuous and balanced expansion and an 
accelerated raising of the standard of living; 
Whereas, at the Conference held in Paris in October 
1972, the Heads of State or of Government affirmed 
that the first aim of economic expansion, which is not 
an end in itself, should be to enable disparities in 
living conditions to be reduced and that it should 
result in an improvement in the quality of life as well 
as in standards of living. 
Whereas moreover, in Article 117 of the EEC Treaty, 
the Member States agree upon the need to promote 
improved working conditions and an improved 
standard of living for workers, so as to make possible 
their harmonization while the improvement is being 
maintained; 
Whereas prevention of occupational accidents and 
diseases and also occupational hygiene fall within the 
fields and objectives referred to in Article 118 of the 
EEC Treaty; whereas in this context collaboration 
should be strengthened between the Member States 
and the Commission and between the Member States 
themselves; Whereas suitable health protection for the public and 
effective prevention of accidents and effects on health 
from work would meet these general objectives; 
Whereas, in spite of sustained efforts, the continuing 
high level of accidents and effects on health from 
work remains a serious problem; 
Whereas efforts made in the field of accident 
prevention and health protection at the work place 
have beneficial effects which are reflected in the 
economic sphere and in industrial relations; 
Whereas a considerable effort is needed at 
Community level to search for and implement suitable 
means for maintaining or creating a working 
environment tailored to the needs of man and his 
legitimate aspirations; 
Whereas both the effectiveness of the measures and 
their cost should be taken into account in the choice 
of action at Community level to be undertaken and of 
the measures to be taken to implement it; 
Whereas the improvement of working conditions and 
the working environment must be envisaged in overall 
terms and must concern all sectors of the economy; 
Whereas the actions should be implemented in 
accordance with the provisions of the Treaties, 
including those of Article 235 of the EEC Treaty; 
Whereas it is essential also to encourage the 
increasing participation of management and labour 
in the decisions and initiatives in the field of safety, 
hygiene and health protection at work at all levels, 
particularly at the level of the undertaking; 
Whereas the Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene 
and Health Protection at Work, set up by Council 
Decision 74/325/EEC (2), must be closely associated 
with this work; 
Whereas the European Foundation for the 
Improvement of Living and Working Conditions and 
The European Centre for the Development of 
Vocational Training may have a role to play in the 
implementation of certain aspects of the programme; 
Whereas, in implementing the actions, account must 
be taken of work undertaken in other fields, notably 
in the context of the Council resolution of 17 
December 1973 on industrial policy (J) and of the 
(')OJNoC 13, 12.2. 1974, p. 1. (2)OJNoLl85, 9. 7. 1974, p. 15. 
OOJNoC 117,31. 12. 1973, p. 1. 
No C 308/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 25. 11.82 
Declaration (') and resolution (2) of the Council of 
the European Communities and of the representatives 
of the Governments of the Member States meeting in 
Council relating to the programmes of action of the 
European Communities on the environment in order 
to ensure the closest possible coordination of actions 
and proposals; 
Whereas, in order to carry out the actions, it is 
important to ensure that concepts, terminology and 
also methods of identification, measurement and 
assessment relating to safety and health risks are 
harmonized; whereas such a task is of major 
importance in the context of these actions; 
Whereas the actions in the Council resolution of 29 
June 1978 on an action programme of the European 
Communities on safety and health at work (5) can be 
undertaken until the end of 1982; 
Notes that this second action programme takes into 
account the action programme for the Commission 
annexed to the aforesaid resolution; 
Expresses the political will to take, in keeping with the 
urgency of the matter and bearing in mind what is 
feasible at national and Community level, the 
measures required so that between now and the end 
of 1988 the following priority actions can be 
undertaken: 
I. PROTECTION AGAINST DANGEROUS AGENTS 
1. Propose Directives based on Council Directive 
80/1107/EEC of 27 November 1980 on the 
protection of workers from the risks related to 
exposure to chemical, physical and biological 
agents at work (4). 
2. Establish a methodology for the assessment of the 
health risks connected with the physical, chemical 
and biological agents present at the workplace, in 
particular by research into criteria of harmfulness, 
by determining the reference values from which 
to obtain exposure limits, and taking into account 
new agents to which workers are exposed. 
3. Develop a standard approach to establishing 
exposure limits for toxic agents. Make 
recommendations for the harmonization of 
exposure limits for a certain number of agents, 
taking into account existing exposure limits. 
(') OJ No C 112, 20. 12. 1973, p. 1. 
(2)OJNoC 189, 13.6. 1977, p. 1. 
C) OJNoC 165, 11.7. 1978, p. 1. 
(4) OJNoL327, 3. 12. 1980, p. 8. 4. Develop standard methods for use at Community 
level, including indicators of individual exposure 
to agents, and establish the measures necessary to 
limit individual exposure. 
5. Develop preventive and protective actions for 
agents recognized as being carcinogenic, by 
fixing exposure limits, by defining measuring 
methods, by determining satisfactory conditions 
of hygiene at work, and by prohibiting use when 
necessary. 
Apply the principles for dealing with carcinogens 
to other dangerous agents and processes which 
may produce serious health effets, e.g. pathogens, 
mutagens, teratogens, and new biological 
techniques. 
6. Develop proposals for limiting exposure to noise, 
vibrations and other non-ionizing radiations. 
II. PROTECTION AGAINST ACCIDENTS AND 
DANGEROUS OCCURRENCES 
7. Develop proposals for safety legislation aimed at 
ensuring comprehensive and coherent provisions 
throughout the Community, in particular for 
certain high-risk occupational groups e.g. metal 
workers, construction and demolition workers, 
and waste-disposal workers. 
8. Develop proposals on specific measures for 
accident prevention relating to falls, to manual 
lifting and handling, and to plant, tools and 
equipment, taking into account Council Directive 
82/501/EEC of 24 June 1982 on the major-
accident hazards of certain industrial activities (s). 
9. Ensure by the application of ergonomics that 
the stress imposed on groups of the working 
population by design of equipment, by the task 
required and by the work environment is not 
prejudical to their health and safety. 
10. Monitor and improve the effectiveness of safety 
and health arrangements by the organization of 
exchanges of experience, in particular as regards 
the inspectorates of the Member States, with a 
view to establishing more clearly the principles, 
(5)OJNoL230, 5. 8. 1982, p. 1. 
25.11.82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 308/13 
methods of organization, and training carried out 
for and by the inspectorates in the fields of 
safety, health and hygiene at work. 
III. ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS — MONITORING 
11. Develop recommendations on the organizational 
and advisory structures of health and safety 
responsibilities within small and medium-sized 
industries, including the roles and responsibilities 
of specialists in occupational health, hygiene, and 
safety. 
12. Establish the priciples and criteria for monitoring 
groups of workers, likely to be at high risk to 
their health and safety, in particular maintenance 
and repair teams, workers undertaking 
subcontract or temporary work, laboratory 
workers and those involved with biotechnology 
and other new technologies. 
IV. TRAINING AND INFORMATION 
13. Encourage the collection and dissemination of 
information at national and Community level on 
safety and health at work. Draw up 
recommendations concerning information notices 
and manuals on the handlilng of certain 
dangerous substances, in particular for those 
which are the subject of Community Directives. 
14. Establish the availability and suitability of infor­
mation to employers and workers who are liable 
to be exposed to chemicals and other agents at 
work, including the relevance of available infor­
mation on marketed substances, and develop 
proposals for the identification of dangerous 
agents in the workplace. 15. Draw up schemes relating to the safety training 
of young workers and develop outline training 
schemes for particular categories of workers such 
as migrants, new recruits and those who have 
changed jobs. 
V. STATISTICS 
16. Develop comparable data on mortality connected 
with work and collate data from other existing 
sources to describe the frequency, gravity and 
causes of accidents at work and absenteeism from 
work attributable to sickness. 
17. Compile an inventory of the cancer registers 
existing at local, regional and national level, with 
a view to assessing the comparability of the data 
contained in these registers, and assess the need 
for better coordination at Community level. 
VI. RESEARCH 
18. Identify topics for applied research in the field of 
safety and health, at work, which are directed 
towards future Community actions. 
VII. COLLABORATION 
19. Continue collaboration with other international 
organizations such as the World Health Organi­
zation and the International Labour Office, as 
well as with national bodies and institutes from 
outside the Community. 
20. Continue to develop beneficial cooperation with 
other Community actions.