COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty concerning the common position of the Council on the adoption of a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (noise) (nth individual Directive pursuant to Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)

1. Background

- Proposal forwarded to Parliament* and the Council (COM(1992)560final) on 8.2.1993 (OJ C 77, 18.3.1993) * not subject to the co-decision procedure at the time of the proposal

- Opinion delivered by the Economic and Social Committee on 30.6.1993 (OJ C 249, 13.9.1993) and by the Committee of the Regions* * stated in a letter dated 13 January 2000 that it would not issue an opinion

- Opinion of the European Parliament (1st reading) delivered on 20.4.1994 (OJ C 128, 9.5.1994)

- Amended proposal forwarded to the Council on 8.7.1994 (OJ C 230, 19.8.1994)

- Date of political agreement and formal adoption of the common position by the Council 11.06.2001 and 29.10.2001

2. Aim of the Commission proposal

The original proposal was based on Article 118A of the Treaty (now Article 137) and takes the form of an individual directive pursuant to Article 16(1) of the framework Directive 89/391/EEC.

Its objective is to protect workers against the risks to their health and safety arising from exposure to physical agents. It applies to four physical agents: noise (risks to hearing), vibrations (risks to the hand, arm and whole body), electromagnetic fields and optical radiation (risks to health from induced currents in the body, shock and burn hazards and from absorption of thermal energy).

The provisions relating to vibrations and electromagnetic radiation are new, whilst those relating to noise already existed in Council Directive 86/188/EEC. This proposal is the second phase of the approach adopted by the Council and provided for in Article 10 of the Directive (review of the Directive) and its aim is to align Directive 86/188/EEC with the general preventive principles laid down by Directive 89/391/EEC.

The Council's general approach was to deal with each physical agent in a separate individual directive. All the delegations and the Commission accepted this approach to deal with the proposal on a step-by-step basis which does not discard the other parts of the Commission's proposal, which remain on the Council's table for future discussions.

For the first physical agent (vibrations), the Council adopted a common position on 25 June 2001, and in the Council minutes reiterated its commitment to deal with the other physical agents at a later stage.

3. Comments on the common position

3.1. General

Owing to the splitting of the proposal, the common position is now limited to the specific minimum requirements for the protection of workers from risks to their health and safety arising or likely to arise from exposure to noise.

The common position sets limit values for exposure which must not be exceeded under any circumstances and exposure action values for daily exposure to noise and peak acoustic pressure. It lays down the preventive measures required to reduce the risks to which workers are exposed. These preventive measures are based, above all, on the employer's obligation to determine and assess the various risks arising from exposure to noise.

On the basis of the risk assessment and as soon as the exposure action values are exceeded, the employer must establish and implement a programme of technical and/or organisational measures aimed at avoiding or reducing exposure.

The common position also provides for detailed measures relating to information and training for workers exposed to noise-related risks when certain exposure values lower than the action values are exceeded. It also stipulates better health monitoring, specifying inter alia that any worker who has been exposed to noise louder than the action value is entitled to a hearing test.

In general, the Council's common position complies with the spirit of the Commission proposal, although with a different structure due to the splitting of the proposal. Like the Commission's amended proposal, the common position does not include the amendments presented following the Parliament's first reading with regard to the deletion of the Annex on noise in the Commission proposal.

The main differences compared to the Commission's amended proposal are in the reduction of the exposure limit values and the raising of the exposure action values to the peak acoustic pressure value and the abandonment of the concept of threshold level.

3.2. The European Parliament's amendments at first reading

The European Parliament's amendments relating to noise adopted at first reading are numbered 1 to 26.

Amendments 1, 5, 8, 9, 14, 16, 17 and 19 were accepted in their entirety in the common position and the amended proposal.

In addition, amendments Nos 7, 10, 11 and 13, which were accepted in the amended proposal, have been slightly reformulated by the Council while retaining their meaning. The Commission is in agreement with this.

Amendments 4, 18 and 20 were accepted in part in the common position but in whole in the amended proposal.

Amendment 21, which was accepted in the amended proposal, and amendment 23 (slightly modified) were not accepted in the common position. The Commission accepts the rejection of these amendments.

Amendments 2, 3, 6, 15, 22, 24, 25 and 26 were not accepted either in the common position or in the amended proposal, for the same reasons as stated at first reading, i.e. that the amendments relating to the exclusion of the physical agent "noise" were in conflict with the obligations imposed on the Commission by Article 10 of Directive 86/188/EEC and those arising from the European Parliament resolution of 13 September 1990 calling on the Commission to submit a proposal for a directive on the risks associated with exposure to noise and vibrations and other physical agents.

Amendment No 12, which was not included in the amended proposal, has been incorporated with a slight modification in the common position.

The main differences between the amended proposal and the Council's common position are:

a) a different structure and renumbering of the Articles imposed by the decision on the splitting of a general directive on physical agents into four different individual directives covering the four physical agents separately.

The Commission agreed to the splitting on condition that the amended proposal remains on the Council's table until all the physical agents have been dealt with and subject to a firm commitment from the Council to continue its work on the remaining parts of the proposal until its completion.

b) the daily exposure limit to noise was lowered from 90 dB(A) to 87 dB(A) in the common position, whilst the exposure action value for peak acoustic pressure was raised from 112 Pa to 200 Pa.

The Commission accepts the new values laid down in the common position with a view to achieving a global compromise, particularly as the exposure limit value of 87 dB(A) represents a clear progress compared to its proposals;

c) the deletion of the threshold values in the common position.

The Commission accepts this deletion because it strengthens the text by making the provisions of the Directive applicable as long as the risk exists.

3.3. New provisions introduced by the Council, and the Commission's position

Article 14 of the common position includes an optional five-year transitional period with regard to implementation of the provisions linked to compliance with the limit value for workers on maritime vessels, in order to take into account the specific conditions. It should be noted that Directive 86/188/EEC excludes maritime navigation workers from its field of application.

The Commission agrees with the Council that awareness-raising and targeted information campaigns, the preparation of training modules and organisation of courses, and the acquisition of new equipment and/or accessories will all be necessary for the application of the exposure limit in the particularly difficult conditions encountered in the maritime navigation sector.

4. Conclusions/general comments

The Commission supports the common position in its entirety.

5. Commission statements

n.a.