On Wednesday 19 November, the Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the EU will be asked to give the green light to the draft General approach on the sixth revision of Directive 2004/37/EC on carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxic substances at work, known as the ‘CMRD’ (see EUROPE 13684/27).
The EU27’s employment and social affairs ministers will discuss the issue on 1 December. Proposed in July, this revision recommends setting new exposure limits for cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 1,4-dioxane. Welding fumes are also included in the scope.
The Member States, meeting in a working group on 11 November, had also asked for values to be introduced for isoprene, a volatile organic hydrocarbon used in natural and synthetic rubber and considered to be pollutant and toxic when emitted in industrial quantities.
The Danish Presidency of the EU Council is now proposing an occupational exposure limit value (OELV) for isoprene, whereas the Commission had concluded that current measures to prevent occupational exposure to isoprene were sufficient.
However, many Member States pushed for this reference, believing that doubts exist regarding the adequacy of worker health protection, and that action should therefore be taken.
“Isoprene meets the criteria for classification as carcinogenic [...] in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 and is therefore a carcinogen within the meaning of Directive 2004/37/EC”, states the text. On the basis of the information available, it is therefore appropriate to establish “a long-term occupational exposure limit value of 8.5 mg/m³ (3 ppm)”.
Residual risk of cancer. A recital has also been added to specify that, while the setting of exposure limit values for carcinogens and mutagens does not totally eliminate risks to workers’ health and safety arising from occupational exposure (residual risk), it nevertheless contributes to a significant reduction in these risks.
For welding fumes, one recital recommends developing additional guidance, based on the most recent scientific data, which could help companies and labour inspectors to ensure compliance and promote a high minimum level of protection for all workers exposed to these fumes.
With regard to the biological limit value for 1,4-dioxane, the text specifies that it must be measured “at the end of exposure or shift, in accordance with national laws and/or practice”.
Finally, with regard to mercury, the text also states that, as “not all divalent inorganic mercury compounds can be classified as reprotoxic substances, it is necessary to clarify that the limit value applies only to mercury and divalent inorganic mercury compounds that fall under the scope of Directive 2004/37/EC”.
This sixth revision was not particularly complex or controversial, but some sources believe that the EU Council was more ambitious than the Commission this time.
The new proposals could prevent around 1,700 cases of lung cancer and 19,000 other diseases, including restrictive lung disease and liver and kidney damage, over the next 40 years, according to the Commission. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)