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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(82)520 final.
Brussels,21September1982
SecondReportfromtheCommission totheCouncilonthe
ActionProgrammeoftheEuropeanCommunities on
SafetyandHealthatWork
(Financialyears1980-1981)
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C0MC82)520final.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
o.-i,
Subjectt2ndreportfromthe
actionprogrammeof
andhealthat'work'.Commission totheCouncilonthe
theEuropeamCommunities onsafety
TheactionprogrammeoftheEuropeanCommunities onsafetyand
healthatwork,whichhas"beenthesubjeotofaCouncilresolu­
tionof29June1978tcontainsaninvitationtotheCommissionto
submitanannualreportontheprogressmadeinimplementing this
programmf.
.■...•"t
*
# #
BâtimentJeanMonnet,PlateauduKlrchberg .L2920LUXEMBOURG
Boitepostale1907QTéléphone43011□TélexCOMEURLU3423/3446

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

-2-
Introduction
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 ithadbeen accepted
bytheCouncil with the implementation 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 the order ofthe actions listed inthe programme .
A.Industrial accident and occupational disease aetiology research
Actions 1and 2
Inview ofthe shortage ofstaff atthe Statistical Office of
theEuropean Communities ,ithas notyet really been possible
tobegin compiling Community statistics onindustrial accidents
forall branches ofactivity .
However ,considerable progress hasbeen recorded inthree branches
-building ,agriculture and sea fishing .
Inthe case ofthebuilding industry ,analysis ofthecauses
ofaccidents hasshown that falls are largely responsible and
that working conditions are ofgreat importance .
Theresults ofsurveys intheagricultural sector are still
toofragmentary 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

-3-
TheJoint Committee responsible for thesocial problems associated
with seafishing 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 intwo industrial areas intheCommunity
has continued and ,inthe case ofone area ,has been completed .
The results show clearly how useful 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 use ofexisting data onaCommunity basis ;these will
beabetter guide for theorganization ofmeasures toprevent
accidents than traditional general statistics .The advantage
ofthese surveys isthat they show the industrial sectors at
risk objectively and quantitatively .
Research .Twopreparatory studies onthebuilding industry
were carried out in1981 .
The first covered falls inthis industry .The second was more
general ,the aim being toassess working conditions .
The Commission has looked into these studies and the preparations
oftheAdvisory Committee onSafety ,Hygiene andHealth Protection
atWork and isdrawing uparesearch programme onthebuilding
industry .
Inthelonger term ,butwith thesame objectives inmind ,preparations
arebeing made for amore general research programme onall
industrial branches .Astudy onthis ,entitled 'Scientific
andtechnical basis for aCommunity research programme onsafety
and health atwork' ,isabout tobecompleted .
B.Protection against dangerous substances
Inconnection with action inthis field ,theCouncil has adopted
the following two directives .
1.Council Directive of27November 1980 ontheprotection of
workers from the risks related toexposure tochemical ,
physical andbiological agents atwork (*).
This Directive covers allchemical ,physical andbiological
agents used inindustry and includes both short -andlong-
term measures .
The short-term measures are information forworkers and appropriate
monitoring oftheir health .
*)Official Journal L327 of3December 1980

-4-
Inthelongterm,theMemberStatesmusttaketechnicalmeasuresto
ensurethattheexposureofworkerstoagentsisavoidedorkeptat
aslowalevelasisreasonablypracticable ;provisionismadefor
14measures,plusfiveadditionalmeasuresforthe11agentsinthe
Annex.
TheDirectivealsostatesthatindividualproposalsfordirectives
willbesubmittedbytheCommissiontotheCouncilforthese11
agents.
Withthisinview,twoproposalsfordirectivesonlead(*)and
asbestos(**)weresubmittedin1979and1980(Action5)»priority
isnowbeinggiventotheremainingagents:aorylonitrile ,arsenic,
benzine,cadmium,mercury,nickel,chloroform,paradichlorobenzine
andcarbontetrachloride .
On28July1982.havingconsideredtheopinionsoftheEuropean
Parliament(***)andtheEconomicandSocialCommittee(****),the
CounciladoptedtheDirectiveontheprotectionofworkersfrom
harmfulexposuretometallicleadanditsioniccompoundsatwork
(firstindividualdirectiveunderthetermsofArticle8of
Directive80/IIO7/EEC)(*****).
2.CouncilDirectiveonthema.jor-accident hazardsofcertainindustrial
activities (»*****)
ThisCouncilDirectiveof24June1982relatesbothtotheaction
programmeontheenvironment andtotheactionprogrammeonsafety
andhealthatwork.
ThemainaimoftheDirectiveistopreventthemajoraccidentswhich
couldbecausedbycertainindustrialactivitiesandtolimittheir
effectsontheenvironment .
TheDirectiveestablishes asystemforthecontrolofindustrial
activitiesinvolvingdangeroussubstancesinquantitiesexceeding
certainlimitsbyrequiringthemanufacturer tosubmittothecompetent
authoritiesanotification ,theformandcontentofwhicharefixed.
Asregardsthesiteandthepersonsworkingonthesite,theDirective
obligesmanufacturers toprovidesuchpersonswithinformation,
trainingandequipmentinordertoensuretheirsafety.Inaddition,
formoredangerousindustrialactivitiesthemanufacturer mustprepare
emergencyplans,includingtheprovisionofsafetyequipment,alain
systemsandresourcesavailableforuseinsidetheestablishment .
MenberStatesarerequiredtoinformtheCommissionofmajoraocidents
andofthenameoftheorganization whichmighthaverelevantinformation
onsuchaccidentsandwhichisabletoadvisethecompetentauthorities
oftheotherMemberStateswhichhavetointerveneintheeventofsuch
anaccident.TheCommissionistosetuparegistercontainingasummary
*)O.J.C324of28.12.1979
**)O.J.C262of9.10.1980
***)O.J.C101of4.5.1981,p.14
****)O.J.C300of18.11.1980,p.22
*****)O.J.L...
******)O.J.L...

-5-
the J°raccidents which haveoccurred within theterritorv ofth
Member States ,including ananalysis ofthecauses ofsuchaccidents
experience gamed andmeasures taken ,toenable theMember States to'usethis information forprevention purposes .
Action 4
policy oncarcinogenic substances attheworkplace hasbeendrawn
J®1"*examined bytheAdvisory Committee onSafety ,HyandHealth Protection atWork . foolirvHf *OCument withinformation which could beusedforaCommunitypolicy oncarcmo £RENI c tI , . _ LULLWJT
Lasoeen arawn up
onSafety ,Hygiene
Dangers ofmicrowave radiation
Inconnection with theprotection ofworkers agains physical
agents ,theCommission submitted totheCouncil on26June 1980
aProposal foraDirective (*)laying down basic standards for
thehealth protection ofworkers andthegeneral public againstthedangers ofmicrowave radiation .
C*Prevention ofthedangers andharmful effects ofmachines
Action 8–Noise andvibrations
Several studies have been made ofthecorrelation between the
risk ofhearing damage andexposure tonoise ,theproblems
ofindustrial audiometry andthehearing risks duetofluctuating
andimpulse noise .Another isinprogress ontheproblem of
thelabelling ofnoisy equipment used atwork .
TheCommission departments aredrawing upaProposal foradirective
ontheprotection ofworkers agains therisks ofexposure to
noise .Thenecessary consultations areinprogress .
Astudy onthehealth effects ofvibrations atwork isnearingcompletion .
Twostudies (**)have been undertaken tocompare various aspects '
oftheapplication oftheprinciples ofaccident prevention
inthedesign ,construction anduseofindustrial equipment .
Theresults will beavailable during 1982 andwill complement '
those quoted under Action 1.Oneproposal istoestablish
specifications forcertain types ofagricultural equipment or
two-part programme ontheepidemiology ofrespiratory diseases
inagriculture isreaching completion .Astudy conducted in
eight Community countries ontherisks towhich agricultural
workers areexposed hasshown that thedata available andthe
wayinwhich they areinterpreted vary considerably andthis
maygive afalse impression oftherisk factors where health
isconcerned .
*) Official Journal C249of26September 1980 .
**)-Comparative study ofnational procedures fortheapproval
ofmachines forsafety purposes
-Comparative study oftheregulations inthe Community..'
countries onoccupational safety and theinclusion ofsafety
considerations inthevarious stages ofdesign ,production
and use .Action 9
plant .

-6-
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
Formany years theCommission has been doing considerable work
inthefield ofergonomics with itssponsorship ofECSC research
projects .
Although this work covers thecoal andsteel industries ,there
areaspects ofitwhich could beapplied more generally .
Examples are items such asthefollowing :
-theadaptation ofdata processing tonew technology ;the
adaptation ofmicroprocessors tooffice work ;
-thehandling ofheavy loads .This could beadapted specifically
tobuilding andagriculture ;
-cooling ofahot environment .This information isapplicable
toallhotworkplaces ,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 tothe design ofmonitoring
andwarning systems inprocessing industries such asthepetro­
chemical industry ;
-theproblems associated with the display ofinformation ona
cathode-ray screen ;
-ways inwhich ergonomics can help toensure safe and healthy
environments and working conditions where new technology has
been applied toexisting installations ;
-assessment oftheergonomic stress associated with unavoidable
additional tasks resulting from the introduction ofremote
control and robqts into industrial technology ;
-functional assessment ofthe disabled inrelation tothe tasks
created bynew auxiliary microelectronic systems .

-7-
D. 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 onthe subject 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 onthe part tobe
played bytheworks inspector inthe improvement ofsafety .
Preparatory work for this colloquium began in1981 .The
Commission hopes tolearn somethin from experience atnational
level and regards works inspection asbeing ofprime importance
ifahigh level ofsafety istobeachieved .
During acourse forworks inspectors inDenmark (J^rlunde )
in1981 ,theneed for more coordination between Member States
ondangerous substances was discussed .
Itisuptothe Commission totake action toavoid the adoption
ofincompatible national systems .
Action 14-Training and information onsafety
Aseminar washeld inApril 1980 for experts from theCommunity
countries tocompare university health and safety teaching
programmes andmethods .
The aim ofthis colloquium was also toexchange information
ontheobjectives and contents ofcourses onsafety training .
Itbrought tolight thehigh degree ofsimilarity ofthe
subjects taught and the impact ofnational legislation on
what was taught .
Two aspects emerged :theneed totrain both the specialists
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 .
Thedata from this study will serve asabasis for thecolloquium
in1982 the aimbeing toestablish theaction theCommission
should take inthis field .The main purpose istodefine
guidelines for safety training atunivers :;Lvlevel .
*»collaboration between amain under :aknp
'ccr»tr?vt -.•")andsecondary firms (:.\:b-' *.tractors )

-θ-
II.Implementation ofthe ■'tion Programme ^
Asindicated inthe fi .treport there isconstant cooperation
intheimplementation oftheaction programme between the
Commission and theAd,;tryCommittee onSafety ,Hygiene and
Health Protection atlilon ,and itsworking parties .Thethree
working parties have beer ,maintained .
III .The future ofthe Acti onProgramme
Thecouncil Resolution ,f29June 1978 ontheAction Programme
oftheEuropean Communities onSafety andHealth atWork expresses
"thepolitical wi.ll totake ,inthekeeping with theurgency
ofthematter andbearing inmind what isfeasible atnational
andCommunity lev«l ,themeasures required sothat between
nowand theendof1982 '.hefollowing actions inparticular
can beundertaken ".
*
After the first report ontheAction Programme ,and particularly
during 1981 ,theCommission embarked upon .anumber ofactions
which had previously noi ,been possible .
Specific examples are activities under theheading .Industrial
accident andoccupational dis^.ise aetiology -Research (Actions
1and 2),Prevention ofthedangers andharmful effects of
machines (Actions 8and 3)andMonitoring andinspection -
improvement ofhuman attitudes (Actions 12,13and 14).
The resources have not K;wever ,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 for1983 following
onfrom the first .