Activites

• 1997/07/08 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Directive 1997/42
  • OJ L 179 08.07.1997, p. 0004
• #2015
• 1997/06/27 Council Meeting
• 1997/06/27 End of procedure in Parliament
• 1997/06/27 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• 1997/04/28 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1997)0191
• 1997/04/09 Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading
  • T4-0143/1997 summary

    In adopting the recommendation for second reading by Mrs Outi OJALA (GUE/NGL, FIN), the European Parliament approved the common position of the Council on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens at work while proposing several amendments already approved at first reading: - it repeated its request that the Commission should simplify the possibilities for setting limit values for carcinogens, particularly those for which limit values based on health grounds have already been obtained from scientific studies; limit values should be set as quickly as possible for all substances listed as class 1 and 2 carcinogens in Annex VI to Directive 67/548/EEC; - it expressed concern about the carcinogenic effects of arsenic and arsenic compounds, saying that they should be added to the Community priority list of substances for scientific evaluation in order to set limit values as soon as possible; - it again proposed a uniform measuring procedure for determining the limit value for benzene in the air. It also wanted: - removal of the transition measures advocated by the Council in its common position for setting a limit value for benzene which could be applied after three years after incorporation of the directive into national law (or six years after its entry into force throughout the Community); - the Member States to incorporate the directive into national law before 31 December 1998 at the latest (and not three years after its entry into force). �

• 1997/04/07 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    Pointing out that nearly 10 million workers had contracted an occupational disease and that approximately 4% of cancer-related deaths probably resulted from occupational factors, the rapporteur regretted that the Council had taken over only five of the amendments at first reading. It had insisted on this so that the introduction of an atmospheric limit value for benzene was not delayed and so that the transposition of this directive into national law was not deferred beyond 31 December 1998. For the Commission, Mrs Bjerregaard regretted not being able to accept the amendments tabled.

• 1997/02/27 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
  • A4-0072/1997
• 1996/12/12 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
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• 1996/12/02 Council Meeting
  • 10591/1996 summary

    In its common position on the Council Directive amending Directive 90/394/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens at work, the Council takes into account a limited number of amendments made by Parliament at first reading. The amendments accepted seek to: - stress the presence of carcinogens at work; - take over, in part only, the definition given by Parliament to the limit value for occupational exposure (limit value for the concentration of a carcinogen in the breathing zone of a worker over an 8 hour reference period). However, the Council did not take over any of the amendments approved by Parliament and taken up by the Commission in its modified proposal with regard to: - the definition of a worker's breathing zone, - the definition of a biological limit value, - the setting of a uniform method for measurement and analysis of benzene (standard CEN 689:1995), - ensuring that this directive is consistent with those on the protection of health and general environment of citizens, - the principle of biological monitoring of exposed workers. The Council also adds new items to the text of the Commission proposals. These modifications include: - the addition of a new paragraph to specify the methods for applying this directive to asbestos and vinyl chloride monomer, which is the subject of specific directives; - clarification of the definition of the occupational limit value for exposure to carcinogens by introducing a new paragraph covering the binding nature of these limit values: it is essential to ensure that these values are never exceeded. At the same time the Council accepts the exposure limit value for benzene proposed by the Commission (1 ppm over an 8 hour reference period) but has extended the time-scale and the scope of the transitional measures for the implementation of this value so that all the sector concerned can comply with it. It sets the date by which these transitional measures should end at three years after the date of transposition of the directive by the Member States. Thus the derogations provided for by the Commission to allow certain sectors to adapt to the directive have been deleted (filling stations, garages, primary synthesis in perfume production, etc.). �

• #1948
• 1996/09/24 Council Meeting
• 1996/07/24 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1996)0414 summary

    The amended Commission proposal included a substantial number of the amendments adopted by Parliament at first reading. These concerned: - the role of biological monitoring in health surveillance for exposed workers; - the need for consistency with other Community acts on the same subject: especially the directives on health protection of workers and directives on general public health and environmental protection; - the advisability of having a uniform method for measuring benzene concentrations in air and for analysis by setting a standard of CEN 689:1995 for the measuring procedure. It also included Parliament's amendments on definition of the worker's breathing zone and the definition of the 'biological limit value'. The Commission included primary synthesis in fragrance material production among the temporary derogations for limit values of benzene. It did not include the amendments setting limit values for a series of other substances (such as arsenic and its compounds) and did not withdraw the derogations set out in Annex III to the directive, as Parliament wished. �

• 1996/06/20 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T4-0350/1996 summary

    In adopting the report by Mrs Marjatta STENIUS-KAUKONEN (GUE/NGL, FIN), Parliament approved the proposal for amending the directive with the following amendments: - it asked the Commission to find solutions for simplifying the setting of limit values for carcinogens, particularly those for which limit values based purely on health grounds have already been obtained from scientific evidence and reliable studies; limit values should be set as quickly as possible for all the substances listed as class 1 and 2 carcinogens in Annex VI to Directive 67/548/EEC; - expressing concern about the carcinogenic effects of arsenic and its compounds, Parliament thought they should be added to the priority list of substances for scientific evaluation so limit values could be set as soon as possible; - on the definition of 'limit value' under the directive, Parliament thought this was a compulsory value that could not be exceeded; consequently all derogations envisaged by the Commission, concerning sites and sectors of activity (service stations, garages, etc.) have been deleted. Parliament also defined a worker's 'breathing zone': 'the space from where he takes his breath' and where the carcinogen might be found; - drawing attention to the importance of setting biological limit values for carcinogenic agents, to assess the degree of absorption by means other than breathing; Parliament defined it as the limit of concentration in the appropriate biological medium; - considering that the limit value of concentration of benzene in the air proposed by the Commission (1 ppm over an average period of eight hours) was a compromise between protection of workers and technical constraints, Parliament retained the limit value for benzene proposed by the Commission: a reducing it to 0.1 ppm by 31 December 2000. It also asked for a uniform measuring system for determining the limit value for benzene in the air and that companies that have carcinogens present at the work place prove that they regularly inform workers of the risks of exposure. �

• 1996/06/19 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    The rapporteur, Mrs Stenius-Kaukonen (GUE/NGL, FIN), expressed support for the proposal to extend the scope of the 1990 Directive on the exposure of workers to the risk of cancer at the workplace. However, she rejected a compromise on concentration limits for benzene in the air, as proposed by the Commission (1 ppm exposure over a period of 8 hours), proposing instead a long-term reduction of 0.1 ppm in the limit value for occupational exposure. Commissioner Flynn stated that he could not accept Amendments Nos 11, 14 and 15 as these would negate the temporary exemptions required in certain industrial sectors in order to comply with the benzene tolerability threshold, though this would not rule out the possibility of a future reduction in the limit period for exposure to this carcinogenic substance. Finally, Amendments Nos 17, 18, 19 and 20 could not be taken over, as they were incompatible with the exemptions in place; Amendments Nos 3, 4, 7 and 10 were also rejected because they were not in keeping with the wording of the Directive. However, the Commission was prepared to implement the proposal for a uniform procedure for benzene testing (Amendment No 16).

• 1996/03/26 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A4-0103/1996
• 1995/10/13 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 1995/09/13 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(1995)0425 summary

    OBJECTIVE: to amend Directive 90/394/EEC in order to set new limit values for occupational exposure to carcinogens, particularly benzene, and to make provision for the inclusion of certain preparations which are currently excluded from the scope of the directive. CONTENT: the main amendments to the directive seek to: - amend the annex to Directive 90/394/EEC so as to set limit values for the exposure of workers to benzene (3.25 mg/m3). The directive makes provision for derogations for certain sites or sectors of activity, the limit value for which is set at 9.75 mg/m3 until 31 December 2000 (e.g. garages, non-self-service petrol stations etc.). - extend the scope of the directive: the directive has been reworded to include exposure to preparations such as medicines for human or veterinary use, cosmetic products, mixtures of substances in the form of waste, pesticides, munitions and explosives, and foodstuffs. At the same time the directive also covers class R45 substances which "may cause cancer" and class R49 substances which "may cause cancer by inhalation" in order to avoid different levels of protection between workers exposed to preparations containing carcinogens; - amend the directive in order to formulate a new strategy for monitoring exposed workers, taking account of the total effect of exposure (i.e. not only respiratory exposure but also exposure from penetration through the skin); - correct certain editorial shortcomings which totally negated the purpose of the original text in certain language versions, the aim being to provide unambiguous protection for workers against polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in certain by-products of coal DEADLINE FOR TRANSPOSITION: Member States must comply with this directive by 31 December 1998. �

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(1995)0425
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A4-0103/1996
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0350/1996
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1996)0414
• Council position published: 10591/1996
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A4-0072/1997
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T4-0143/1997
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1997)0191
• : Directive 1997/42
• : OJ L 179 08.07.1997, p. 0004

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)