Brussels, 07/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - At a meeting of the conciliation committee on 6 December, the Council and the European Parliament formally gave the green light to the Directive on the protection of workers from risks linked to exposure to optical radiation. The Council accepted the EP's request to exclude from this legislation rays from natural sources such as the sun, and limited the application to artificial rays (laser, infrared lamps etc.). The Directive details measures to be taken by employers to protect their workers (changing work practices to reduce the risk of radiation, limiting the length and level of exposure, design and lay-out of work stations or use of appropriate personal protection equipment). The Commission will publish a practical guide for employers, especially for SME, to help them understand the technical provisions in this Directive. If the agreement is approved in plenary session (the vote is planned for February 2006), Member States will have four years to bring it into practice. This Directive is the last in a series of four aimed at protecting workers from the dangers of various “physical agents” (the three others are on exposure to noise, to vibrations and to electromagnetic fields. (For the background on this “sunshine” Directive, see EUROPE 9029, 9027, 9024, 9022 and 9021.)