29/04/2026 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 29 April, MEPs finally approved the mandate for negotiations with the EU Council on the sixth revision of the Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic Substances Directive (CMRD), which proposes new exposure limit values for certain dangerous chemicals (see EUROPE 13850/23). Confusion had arisen over the validity of the mandate in parliamentary committee on 15 April, but the mandate, announced at the start of the plenary session on Monday, was not contested and was therefore deemed to have been adopted. The revision concerns new limit values for cobalt and its inorganic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, used in steel, iron and aluminium production, and 1,4-dioxane, used in chemical and textile production, and also includes welding fumes. A long-term occupational exposure limit value has also been introduced for isoprene. The date of 7 May has been set for an initial negotiation meeting. (SP)