Protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents at work

1) OBJECTIVE

To harmonise national provisions relating to the protection of workers by measures to prevent exposure to certain chemical, physical and biological agents, or to keep it at as low a level as is possible.

2) COMMUNITY MEASURES

Council Directive 80/1107/EEC of 27 November 1980 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents at work.

Council Directive 88/642/EEC of 16 December 1988 amending Directive 80/1107/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents at work.

3) CONTENTS

1. The Directive does not apply to workers exposed to radiation covered by the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), sea transport and air transport.

2. Definition of the terms "agent"; "worker": any employed person exposed or likely to be exposed to an agent at work; "limit value": exposure limit or biological indicator limit in the appropriate medium. More detailed definitions of "limit value" and "suspended matter" are contained in Annex II a.

Obligations of Member States:

3. When adopting provisions relating to an agent, the Member States must take a series of 14 measures, including: limitations of the use of the agent, technical preventive measures, determination of the nature and degree of the workers' exposure, establishment of limit values and of sampling procedures, measuring procedures and procedures for evaluating results (a reference method is contained in Annex II a), collective hygiene and protection measures, information and the use of signs, and a ban on an agent in cases where there is inadequate protection. The measures also include the adoption by the employer of appropriate measures to ensure that workers and/or their representatives receive the necessary information and full instruction concerning not only the potential risks, preventive measures and precautions but also the risk assessment methods used, the existence of a limit value and the action to be taken in the event of a limit value being exceeded.

4. Additional measures must be taken in the case of the list of agents specified in Annex I: medical surveillance, access to the results of exposure measurements, biological tests and information of workers.

5. The list of agents may be amended by the Council.

6. The Member States must determine the extent, if any, to which each of these measures is to apply to the agent in question.

7. In the case of the agents listed in Annex II, the Member States must provide medical surveillance during the period of exposure and access for workers at the place of work to information on the dangers which these agents present.

8. Adaptation to technical progress is restricted to the technical aspects listed in Annex III. A committee consisting of representatives of the Member States has been set up to assist the Commission with adaptation to technical progress.

9. The Council will establish, in the individual Directives that it adopts with regard to the agents listed in Annex I, binding limit values and/or other specific requirements; in the case of other agents, indicative limit values will be drawn up by the Commission, assisted by the Committee for adaptation to technical progress. The indicative limit values reflect expert evaluations based on scientific data.

10. The Directives are without prejudice to the right of Member States to apply or adopt other provisions laying down more stringent standards.

4) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LEGISLATION IN THE MEMBER STATES

Directive 1107/EEC:
three years from the date of notification;
four years in the case of Article 3(3),
first indent; four and five years respectively in the case of Greece.
Directive 88/642/EEC: 21.12.1990

5) DATE OF ENTRY INTO FORCE (if different from the above)

6) REFERENCES

Official Journal L 327, 03.12.1980
Official Journal L 356, 24.12.1988

7) FOLLOW-UP WORK

Both Directives have been revised and incorporated, with Council Directives 82/605/EEC and 88/364/EEC and Commission Directive 91/322/EEC, into a new proposal for a Council Directive on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work (COM(93) 55 final SYN0459 -Official Journal C 165, 16.06.1993).

8) COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING MEASURES

Directive 91/322/CEE - Official Journal L 177, 05.07.1991
Commission Directive 91/322/EEC of 29 May 1991 on establishing indicative limit values for the implementation of Council Directive 80/1107/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents at work. The Directive establishes indicative limit values for an initial list of 27 chemical agents. When establishing limit values referred to in Article 4(4)(b) of Directive 80/1107/EEC, Member States must take into account the indicative limit values listed in the Annex to the Directive of 29 May 1991.

Directive 96/94/EC - Official Journal L 338, 28.12.1996
Commission Directive of 18 December 1996 establishing a second list of indicative limit values in implementation of Council Directive 80/1107/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents at work.