CELEX: 51998PC0665
Language: en
Date: 1998-11-13
Title: Amended proposal for a Council Directive amending for the second time Directive 90/394/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens at work

16.12.98             EN                Official Journal of the European Communities                        C 392/11
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
              Amended proposal for a Council Directive amending for the second time Directive
              90/394/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens at
                                                            workØ(Î)
                                                        (98/C 392/09)
                                                   (Text with EEA relevance)
                                           COM(1998) 665 final — 98/0093(SYN)
              (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 189a(2) of the EC Treaty on 13 November
                                                             1998)
              (Î)ÙOJ C 123, 22.4.1998, S. 21.
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                           AMENDED PROPOSAL
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 118A thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 90/394/EEC of 28
June 1990 on the protection of workers from the risks
related to exposure to carcinogens at workØ(Î), as
amended for the first time by Directive 97/42/ECØ(Ï),
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
drawn up following consultation with the Advisory
Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at
Work,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,
Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in
Article 189c of the Treaty
Whereas Article 118A of the Treaty provides that the
Council shall adopt, by means of directives, minimum
requirements for encouraging improvements, especially
in the working environment, to ensure a better level of
protection of the safety and health of workers;
Whereas, under the terms of Article, such directives are
to avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal
constraints in a way which would hold back the creation
and development of small and medium-sized under-
takings,
(Î)ÙOJ L 196, 26.7.1990, p. 1.
(Ï)ÙOJ L 179, 8.7.1997, p. 4.
 ---pagebreak--- C 392/12             EN                Official Journal of the European Communities                                16.12.98
                     INITIAL PROPOSAL                                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
Whereas germ cell mutagens are substances that can
cause a permanent change in the amount or structure of
the genetic material of a cell resulting in a change in the
phenotypic characteristics of that cell, which may be
transferred to descendent daughter cells;
Whereas because of their mechanism of action germ cell
mutagens are likely to have carcinogenic effects;
Whereas vinyl chloride monomer is classified as a
category 1 carcinogen under Council Directive
67/548/EEC;
Whereas, for the sake of consistency and clarity, the
essential provisions of Council Directive 78/610/EEC on
the approximation of the laws, regulations and adminis-
trative provisions of the Member States on the protection
of health and safety of workers exposed to vinyl chloride
monomer should be included in this Directive, without
reducing the level of protection of the health and safety
of workers;
Whereas Council Directive 78/610/EEC can be repealed
after the entry into force of this Directive;
Whereas the carcinogenicity of oak and beech dusts has           Whereas the carcinogenicity of oak and beech dusts has
been confirmed in epidemiological studies on workers             been confirmed in epidemiological studies on workers
exposed; whereas, a large number of workers are                  exposed; whereas it is highly probable, that other types
exposed to a potential health risk;                              of hardwood dust can also cause cancer in humans;
                                                                 whereas therefore many workers are exposed to a serious
                                                                 potential risk of developing cancer;
                                                                 Whereas the precautionary principle should be applied in
                                                                 the protection of workers’ health; whereas therefore
                                                                 Directive 90/394/EEC should be extended to cover all
                                                                 types of hardwood dusts;
                                                                 whereas further research is desirable in to the carcinoge-
                                                                 nicity of other woods dusts; whereas the Commission is
                                                                 to bring forward proposals to protect the health of
                                                                 workers where a risk is identified;
Whereas Article 16 of Directive 90/394/EEC makes
provision for the establishment of exposure limit values
in respect of all carcinogens for which this is possible, on
the basis of the available information, including scientific
and technical data;
 ---pagebreak--- 16.12.98               EN                Official Journal of the European Communities                           C 392/13
                       INITIAL PROPOSAL                                              AMENDED PROPOSAL
Whereas it is appropriate to fix such limit values for
wood dust; whereas the current limit values for vinyl
chloride monomer should be reduced to reflect best
minimum standards for technological practices which
reflect feasibility factors while maintain the aim of
ensuring the health of workers at work;
                                                                   Whereas workers must be effectively protected from the
                                                                   risks of developing cancer as a result of occupational
                                                                   exposure to wood dust; whereas the objective of this
                                                                   Directive is not to restrict the use of wood either by
                                                                   replacing wood with other materials or by replacing the
                                                                   use of certain type of wood with other types of wood;
Whereas the respect of the minimum requirements on
the protection of health and safety of workers from the
specific risks related to carcinogens aims not only to
ensure the protection of the health and safety of each
individual worker but also to provide a level of minimum
protection of all workers in the Community;
Whereas a consistent level of protection from the risks
related to carcinogens has to be established for the
Community as a whole and whereas that level of
protection has to be set by a framework of general prin-
ciples to enable Member States to apply the minimum
requirements consistently;
Whereas this amendment constitutes a practical aspect of
the realisation of the social dimension of the internal
market;
Whereas, pursuant to Decision 74/325/EECØ(Î), the
Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health
Protection at Work is to be consulted by the
Commission with a view to drawing up proposals in this
field,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
                            Article 1
Directive 90/394/EEC, as amended for the first time by
Directive 97/42/EC, is hereby amended as follows:
1.ÙArticle 1.4 shall be replaced by the following:
    ‘As regards asbestos, which is dealt with by a specific
    Directive, the provisions of this Directive shall apply
    when they are more favourable to safety and health at
    work.’
(Î)ÙOJ L 185, 9.7.1974, p. 15. Decision as last amended as a
    result of the 1994 Act of Accession.
 ---pagebreak--- C 392/14             EN                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                                       16.12.98
                      INITIAL PROPOSAL                                                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
2.ÙItems 5 to 7 shall be added to Annex I
   ‘5.ÙWork involving exposure to wood dusts from the                              ‘5.ÙWork involving exposure to all hardwood dusts.
       following species: beech and oak.
    6.ÙA substance which meets the criteria for classifi-
       cation as a category 1 or 2 mutagen set out in
       Annex VI to Directive 67/548/EEC;
    7.ÙA preparation composed of one or more
       substances referred to in point (6) where the
       concentration of one or more of the individual
       substances meets the requirements for concen-
       tration limits for the classification of a preparation
       as a category 1 or 2 mutagen set out either:
       —Ùin Annex I to Directive 67/548/EEC, or
       —Ùin Annex I to directive 88/379/EEC where the
           substance or substances do not appear in
           Annex I to Directive 67/548/EEC or appear in
           its without concentration limits;’
                                                                                3.ÙIn part A of Annex III the following agent shall be
                                                                                   added:
                                                                                                      Limit values
                                       Name of agent               EINECSØ(Î)        CASØ(Ï)                                 Notation     Derogations
                                                                                                mg/m3 (Ð)       ppmØ(Ñ)
                            Vinyl chloride monomer                   200-831        75-01-4      7,77Ø(Ò)          3Ø(Ò)         —             —
                                                                                                 3,88Ø(Ó)         1,5Ø(Ó)
                            Wood (oak and beech) dust                                            5,0ÙØ(Ô)
                            Hardwood dust                                                     5,0Ø(Ò)Ø(Ô)Ø(Õ)
                            (Î)ÙEINECS: European Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances.
                            (Ï)ÙCAS: Chemical Abstract Service Number.
                            (Ð)Ùmg/m3 = milligrams per cubic metre of air at 20 &C and 101,3 KPa (760 mm mercury pressure).
                            (Ñ)Ùppm = parts per million by volume in air (ml/m3).
                            (Ò)ÙMeasured or calculated in relation to a reference period of eight hours.
                            (Ó)ÙOverriding annual exposure limit measured or calculated as average value for one year.
                            (Ô)ÙWood dust as total dust; it refers to that portion of dust that can possibly be inhaled. It is collected by a sampling
                                device operating at an air intake velocity of 1,25 m/s n 10Ø%.
                            (Õ)ÙWhere other wood dusts are present in the mixture, the limit value shall apply to all wood dusts in the mixture.
 ---pagebreak--- 16.12.98            EN               Official Journal of the European Communities                              C 392/15
                    INITIAL PROPOSAL                                             AMENDED PROPOSAL
                         Article 2
Directive 78/610/EEC on the approximation of the
laws, regulations and administrative provisions on the
protection of health of workers exposed to vinyl chloride
monomer shall be repealed with effect from .Ø.Ø.
                         Article 3                                                    Article 3
On the basis of the latest available scientific data, the      On the basis of the latest available scientific data, the
Commission may within five years of the date of this           Commission may within two years of the date of the
Directive present a proposal to the Council for the            adoption of this Directive present a proposal to the
adoption of revised limit values for vinyl chloride            Council for the adoption of revised limit values for vinyl
monomer and wood (oak and beech) dust in accordance            chloride monomer and hard wood dust in accordance
with Article 118A of the Treaty.                               with Article 118A of the Treaty.
                         Article 4                                                    Article 4
1.ÙÚMember States shall bring into force the laws,             1.ÙÚMember States shall bring into force the laws,
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to         regulations and administrative provisions necessary to
comply with this Directive not later than .Ø.Ø. They shall     comply with this Directive not later than .Ø.Ø. (3 years
forthwith inform the Commission thereof.                       after adoption). They shall forthwith inform the
                                                               Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these provisions, they shall
contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accom-
panied by such reference at the time of their official
publication. The procedure for such reference shall be
laid down by the Member States.
2.ÚÙMember States shall communicate to the
Commission the texts of the provisions of national law
which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
                         Article 5
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.