Strasbourg, 15/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 14 February the European Parliament approved by a very large majority (570 votes for, 16 against, with 49 abstentions) the agreement obtained with the Council in conciliation committee on the directive to protect workers against risks linked to optical radiation exposure. The plenary therefore approved the report of Csaba Öry (EPP-ED, Hungary). During the 6 December conciliation committee meeting, the Council agreed to Parliament's request for legislation to exclude rays from natural sources such as the sun and therefore restrict the directive's field of application to artificial sources, such as lasers and infrared lamps. Member States now have four years to implement the directive at national level. In connection to artificial sources, the directive explains that measures employers have to take to protect their workers include: adapting work methods to reduce the risks of radiation; limitations on the length of time and level of exposure; modifying the design and layout of workplaces and workstations (EUROPE 9084). This directive is the last in a series of four directives devised to protect workers against the different dangers of “physical agents”. The three others focus on exposure to vibrations, noise and electromagnetic fields.
The directive sets minimal norms for preventing and early diagnosis of damage to eyes and skin from rays from artificial sources, as well as on prevention of long term health risks. The directive stipulates what the limited exposure values are and calls on employers to carry out risk assessments. The draft describes workers' rights to information, training, consultation and health checks. A parliament press release points out that workers will in this way be protected under this directive against all electromagnetic rays of wavebands of between 100nm and 1 nm. The communiqué also notes that optical rays are divided between ultraviolet rays, visible rays and infrared. Therefore, radiation such as x-rays and gamma rays or electromagnetic fields such as microwaves or radio frequencies are not covered by this legislation.
By adopting this report, Parliament puts an end to a real saga. We will be able to remember how the European trade union world sought more protection for workers against rays from the sun, whereas workers in construction were afraid of a directive that included sunshine (as well as other aspects) because they considered that their legal responsibility risked being called into question in an unjustified and disproportionate way, in the event of pathologies being linked to exposure to sunshine when it would in fact be impossible to determine the exclusive professional origin to this exposure (EUROPE 8988/9020). Even at the EP debates were lengthy and the different political groups bickered about whether to include sunrays (EPP-ED and ALDE were opposed and the Greens-EFA and PES were for its inclusion) in the directive on protection against sources of natural radiation: (EUROPE 8992/9024).