Directive (EU) 2022/431

What it is

to better protect the health and safety of workers by reducing their exposure to three carcinogenic substances or groups of substances in the workplace. PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: Directive 2004/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council aims to protect workers from risks to their health and safety arising from exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work. Cancer is the leading cause of work-related mortality in the EU: 52% of annual occupational deaths are currently attributed to work-related cancers. The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs adopted the report by Stefania ZAMBELLI (ID, IT) on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work. As a reminder, the legislative proposal is the fourth concerning Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work. It provides for the establishment of new occupational exposure limits for three substances: acrylonitrile, nickel compounds and benzene, to which more than one million workers in the EU are exposed in many different sectors, including the oil, textile, manufacturing, food and chemical industries. The committee responsible recommended that the European Parliament's position adopted at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure should amend the proposal as follows: While maintaining equal levels of protection for all workers, Members considered it desirable to facilitate the operational feasibility and compliance of micro-enterprises and SMEs, avoiding disproportionate impacts on them, in particular by assessing the impact of transposition on these enterprises. Incentives, facilities and digital tools could be the right instruments to address the needs of these businesses. Members suggested extending the scope of Directive 2004/37/EC to reprotoxic substances in order to bring it into line with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (REACH Regulation). Reprotoxic substances are of high concern and the organisation of workplace prevention should apply the same approach to them as to carcinogens and mutagens. Where a carcinogen, mutagen or reprotoxic substance is present in the workplace, the employer should reduce its use, in particular by replacing it, as far as technically possible, with a substance, mixture or process which, under its conditions of use, is not dangerous or is less dangerous to the health or safety of workers. Reprotoxic substances can also seriously harm pregnant and breastfeeding workers. Specific measures for this group of workers have therefore been introduced. In the health care sector alone, 12.7 million workers in Europe (including 7.3 million nurses) are exposed to hazardous drugs at work. The handling, preparation and administration of these drugs exposes…

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