CELEX: 51988PC0735
Language: en
Date: 1988-11-30
Title: RE-EXAMINED PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE AMENDING DIRECTIVE 80/1107/EEC ON THE PROTECTION OF WORKERS FROM THE RISKS RELATED TO EXPOSURE TO CHEMICAL, PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL AGENTS AT WORK

No C 330/10                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                         23. 12. 88
                                                                   II
                                                           (Preparatory Acts)
                                                      COMMISSION
             Re-examined proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 80/1107/EEC on the
             protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to chemical, physical and biological
                                                           agents at work (')
                                                   COM(88)     735 final — SYN 58
             (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 2 (d) of the EEC Treaty on 5 December
                                                                  1988)
                                                             (88/C 330/11)
             O OJ No C 326, 5. 12. 1987, p. 5.
                       PREVIOUS TEXT                                                                 AMENDED TEXT
                                 P r e a m b l e and first to t h i r d r e c i t a l s u n c h a n g e d
                                                            Fourth recital
Whereas for a certain number of agents the limit values                 Whereas for certain agents binding limit values for occu-
of a binding nature and/or the other specific                           pational exposure and, where appropriate, other specific
requirements will be laid down in individual Directives;                 requirements will be laid down in individual Directives;
                                          Fifth to s e v e n t h r e c i t a l s u n c h a n g e d
                                          A r t i c l e 1 (1) and (2) (a) u n c h a n g e d
                                                            Article 1 (2) (b)
(b) Point 9 shall be replaced by the following:                          (b) Point 9 shall be replaced by the following:
    '9. (a) information from employers for workers                              '9. Appropriate measures shall be taken by the
            and/or their representatives in undertakings                            employer to ensure that workers and their repre-
            or establishments on the potential risks                                sentatives in undertakings or establishments
            connected with their exposure, on the                                   receive full information on and instruction in
            technical preventive measures to be observed
            by workers and on the precautions taken by                              (a) the potential risks connected with their
            the employer and to be taken by workers;                                     exposure, the technical preventive measures
                                                                                         to be observed by workers and the
                                                                                         precautions taken by the employer and to be
                                                                                         taken by workers;
 ---pagebreak--- 23. 12. 88                                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                        N o C 330/11
                           PREVIOUS TEXT                                                                     AMENDED TEXT
          (b) information from employers for workers                                          (b) the risk assessment methods used, the
                and/or their representatives in undertakings                                      existence of a limit value as referred to in
                or establishments on the risks assessment                                         point 4 (b) and the need to carry out
                methods used, the existence of a limit value                                      measurements, and the action to be taken, as
                as referred to -in point 4 (b) and the need to                                    laid down in point 4 (c), in the event of a
                carry out measurements and on the action to                                       limit value being exceeded'.
               be taken, as laid down in point 4 (c), in the
                event of a limit value being exceeded'.
                                                     A r t i c l e 1 (3) and (4) u n c h a n g e d
                                                                      A r t i c l e 1 (5)
5.   Article 9 (1) shall be replaced by the following:                                5.   Article 9 (1) shall be replaced by the following:
   '1.       With a view to the adaptation to technical                                  '1.    With a view to the adaptation to technical
   progress referred to in Article 8 (3) and to the estab-                               progress referred to in Article 8 (3) and to the estab-
   lishment of indicative limit values as referred to in                                 lishment of indicative limit values as referred to in
   Article 8 (4), a committee is hereby established                                      Article 8 (4), the Advisory Committee on Safety,
   consisting of representatives of the Member States                                    Hygiene and Health Protection at Work shall be
   and chaired by a representative of the Commission'.                                   consulted and a Committee is hereby established
                                                                                         consisting of representatives of the Member States, to
                                                                                         be chaired by a representative of the Commission'.
                              A r t i c l e 1 ( 6 ) , A r t i c l e s 2 and 3, a n d A n n e x H a u n c h a n g e d
                 Amendments adopted by the European Parliament which have not been included by the
                                                   Commission in its re-examined proposal
                                                                         OPINION
No     1. New recital                                                                The Commission considers that, for certain agents, the
                                                                                     total prevention of exposure is completely impractical.
           Whereas the said protection should be ensured                             Moreover, the aim of this proposal for a Directive is to
           by measures to totally prevent workers'                                   establish exposure limit values.
           exposure to dangerous agents or keep it to an
           absolute minimum;
No    5. A new paragraph 2a. is added to Article 1:                                  The Commission considers that the principles of
                                                                                     protection must cover all workers and is endeavouring to
           '2a.     Pregnant women, nursing mothers and                              introduce the same measures for women, men and young
           children under 18 may not be employed in areas                            persons. Certain measures might be envisaged only in
           in which they would come into contact with any                            highly specific cases and not on a general basis.
           of the chemical, physical or biological agents
           listed in Annex IV of this Directive'.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 330/12                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                  23. 12. 88
                       PREVIOUS TEXT                                                       AMENDED TEXT
No  6. New Article 1 a                                            The Commission does not consider it appropriate to
                                                                 incorporate these provisions into the proposal; however,
                                                                i l wi
       1.     In order to be able to take specific action              U b e a r these ideas in mind for future proposals,
       to combat the potential hazards to workers from
       exposure to dangerous agents, the employer
       shall be required to carry out and record an
       accurate survey of the dangerous agents used in        '
     , the establishment and their associated health
       risks.
       Information shall be collected on the following
       in particular:
       a) all the agents listed in Annex IV to this
           Directive which are
           — used
           — produced
           — handled and processed
           — stored
           — transported
           — disposed of in the establishment, or
           — may be released during the use of other
                agents;
       b) the composition of the agents
           — the quantity of agents used in the estab-
                lishment
           — the work areas affected
           — the handling of these agents            (work
                carried out and processes used);
        c) — the number of workers employed in using
                the agent
           — the safety measures applied
           — the type of protective equipment.
        d) The employer shall be required:
           — to inform the workers of the results of
                the surveys
           — to make the records of the surveys
                available to the workers' representatives
           — to have the information available and
                place it at the disposal of relevant auth-
                orities on request.
 ---pagebreak--- 23. 12. 88                             Official Journal of the European Communities                         No C 330/13
                        PREVIOUS TEXT                                                   AMENDED TEXT
         2. The employer shall be required to store the
         dangerous agents used in the establishment in
         such a way that they do not present any health
         or safety hazard to the workers or to third
         parties.
         3. The employer shall be required to ensure
         that all the dangerous agents present are labelled
         clearly and visibly.
         4. The employer shall be required to collect
         the residues and waste from dangerous agents
         immediately in appropriate and securely sealed
         containers and remove them from the working
         area without delay.
         5. The employer shall be required to provide
         adequate industrial health care. The following
         measures in particular shall be taken:
         — the health of exposed workers must be
             monitored continuously and they must be
             given medical examinations at least once a
             year;
         — as part of this health care and monitoring
             service, the individual records shall be drawn
             up indicating the workers' state of health in
             relation to the exposure and any protective
             or preventive measures that may be taken;
         — these records shall be kept for at least 30
             years and shall be made available to the
             relevant authorities and the workers' repre-
             sentatives in accordance with their powers of
             inspection.
No 10. Article 2 (2)                                              The Commission considers that the time limit of only
                                                                  one year for adoption of this Directive by the Member
         Member States shall adopt the laws, regulations          States is too short to be practicable.
         and administrative provisions necessary to
         comply with this Directive not later than one
         year after its notification. They shall forthwith
         inform the Commission thereof.
No 11. Annex Ha, Section B                                        The Commission is opposed to this idea, which may
         (measuring strategy) 1 (a)                               involve considerable extra burdens, especially for small
                                                                  and medium-sized undertakings.
         Workers' exposure shall be measured at least
         every three months and, in any case, whenever a
         technical change results in increased exposure,
         or at the request of the workers or their repre-
         sentatives.