Strasbourg / Brussels, 13/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - During the launch, on Tuesday in Strasbourg, of the first European-wide campaign against the risks linked to dangerous substances in the workplace (see EUROPE of 9 May, p.16), a campaign that will reach its peak in October 2003 during the European week for health and safety at work, Anna Diamantopoulou - who "feels responsible as a Commissioner for Social Affairs and Employment for the health of European workers - recalled that dangerous substances were a significant cause of time taken off work for occupational ill-health. During a joint press conference with the President of the European Parliament, Pat Cox, the Commissioner, who referred to statistics presented by the Director for the European Agency on health and safety at work in Bilbao, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, considered action should be taken to change the situation where: "22% of workers inhale fumes and vapours for at least a quarter of their working time; where two-thirds of the 30,000 most commonly used chemicals in the EU have not been subjected to full and systematic toxicological tests; and where as few as 12% of firms comply with risk prevention regulations regarding substances with known toxicological risks". Ms Diamantopoulou drew attention to the fact that "not all workers who are exposed to hazardous chemicals work in the chemicals industry - the jobs at highest risk include jobs which you would not at first expect to present such a risk: hairdressers, garage mechanics and printers". After having recalled the whole legislation that exists on this, Ms Diamantopoulou stressed that "equally important is implementation. Rules are necessary but they are a dead letter if businesses are not made aware of them and do not implement them on the ground".