Danish rapporteur Nikolaj Villumsen (The Left) published, on Monday 8 May, his draft report on the Commission’s proposal for a directive amending two older directives on the exposure of European workers to lead and diisocyanates (see EUROPE 13120/10).
For lead, the Commission had proposed lowering the occupational exposure limit to 0.03mg/m3 and lowering the biological limit value per 100 millilitres of blood to 15µg/100ml, with the lowest possible value (4.5µg/100ml) for women of childbearing age, but not binding.
For diisocyanates, various chemicals that can cause respiratory diseases such as asthma and for which no limit values currently exist in the EU, the Commission’s amendment proposes an overall occupational exposure limit of 6µg NCO/m3 (the maximum concentration of a substance in the air that a worker breathes during a given reference period, 8 hours) and a short-term exposure limit of 12µg NCO/m3.
On lead, the rapporteur proposes lowering the values for all workers and thus making the recommended value for women of childbearing age binding. He bases this in particular “on the fact that the Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has considered that a value of 15µg/100ml does not protect the offspring of workers of childbearing age exposed to lead”.
The rapporteur therefore proposes a “binding ‘biological’ exposure value equal to 4.5µg/100ml blood, as opposed to 15 for the Commission, accompanied by a revised occupational exposure value equal to 4µg Pb/m3 (as opposed to 0.03mg/m3), for all workers, regardless of their sex”.
Where the Commission proposes that medical surveillance should be carried out if exposure to “a concentration of lead in air is greater than 0.015mg/m3, calculated as a time-weighted average over 40 hours per week, or if a blood lead level greater than 9μg Pb/100 ml of blood is measured in individual workers”, the Danish MEP proposes that medical surveillance should take place if exposure to a concentration of lead in air “is greater than 0.002 mg/m3, or if a blood lead level greater than 2.7μg Pb/100ml of blood is measured in individual workers”.
For diisocyanates, the rapporteur maintains the occupational exposure limit to be set at 6µg NCO/m3 and a short-term exposure limit of 12µg NCO/m3 for this group of chemical agents. This is in line with the consensus values of trade unions and workers’ organisations.
The draft report could be voted in the Employment and Social Affairs Committee in September, according to the timetable.
First ‘trilogue’ on asbestos
In addition, on Thursday 11 May, the first trilogue on the revision of the directive on occupational exposure to asbestos (see EUROPE 13170/22) will be held, as the European Parliament and the EU Council have adopted different limit values.
Link to the report by Nikolaj Villumsen: https://aeur.eu/f/6tp (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)