WRITTEN QUESTION E-2423/97 by Jyrki Otila (PPE) to the Commission (11 July 1997)

Subject: Reducing the risk of fires caused by welding

Fires caused by sparks from welding in connection with building improvements and car and machine repairs are a common problem. Especially since the fire at Düsseldorf Airport, in which lives were lost, and which was started by sparks from welding, attention has been concentrated on the insufficient clarity and incoherence of safety provisions in the EU's various Member States. These observations were included in the final report of the research group set up by the land of North Rhine-Westphalia to look into the Düsseldorf fire. The report has, we understand, also been sent for information to the Commission's DG III B2 unit dealing with fire safety issues, but there is no sign of any effort to change or supplement the standards at EU level for the prevention of fires caused by welding.

EU standards do not currently contain sufficiently precise provisions for minimising the possible fire risk in connection with welding. However, new technology would permit clear improvements in standards for extinguishing potential fires. One example is equipping welding machinery with inbuilt extinguishing equipment.

In the light of the above, what measures does the Commission propose to take to improve the clarity and adequacy of national standards aimed at preventing welding fires, and how will the Commission clarify the EU standards as regards the prevention of fires connected with welding?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission (6 October 1997)

The Framework Directive 89/391/EEC ((OJ L 183, 29.6.1989. )) on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work obliges the employer to evaluate the risks to the safety and health of the workers in his undertaking or establishment.

Subsequent to this evaluation the employer must, in accordance with the general principles of prevention mentioned in the Directive, implement measures to avoid the risks, combat the risks at source, adapt to technical progress and replace the dangerous by the non-dangerous or the less dangerous. Naturally this procedure also applies to any welding work that the employer may require workers to perform in his undertaking.

When the work is carried out on a construction site, the individual Directive 92/57/EEC on the minimum safety and health requirements at temporary or mobile construction sites ((OJ L 245, 26.8.1992. )) requires that these arrangements be supplemented by a safety plan designed, among other things, to ensure proper coordination of the activities of the various undertakings employed on the site.

The Commission would emphasise that, in accordance with Article 118a, paragraph 1, of the EC Treaty, competence for promoting improvements in the working environment lies first and foremost with the Member States themselves. This principle is reflected in paragraph 3 of the same Article, which provides that Member States may adopt at national level measures that are more stringent than the minimum requirements adopted by the Directives.

Consequently, as things stand at present the Commission has no plans to propose any measures specifically covering the occupational risks related to welding.