Considerations on COM(2001)417 - Amendment of Council Directive 83/477/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2001)417 - Amendment of Council Directive 83/477/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at ... |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2001)417  |
| date | March 27, 2003 |
(2) In those Conclusions, the Commission was also invited to submit proposals to amend Directive 83/477/EEC in the light of the more detailed research on limits for exposure to chrysotile and the methods for measuring airborne asbestos undertaken on the basis of the method adopted by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Similar steps should be taken regarding substitute fibres.
(3) The Economic and Social Committee, in its opinion on asbestos(6), called on the Commission to take new measures to reduce the risks to workers.
(4) The ban on the marketing and use of chrysotile asbestos introduced by Council Directive 76/769/EEC of 27 July 1976 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to restrictions on the marketing and use of certain dangerous substances and preparations(7) with effect from 1 January 2005, will contribute to a substantial reduction in asbestos exposure of workers.
(5) All workers should be protected against the risks associated with exposure to asbestos and the derogations applicable to the sea and air sectors should therefore be removed.
(6) In order to ensure clarity in the definition of the fibres, they should be redefined either in mineralogical terms or with regard to their Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) number.
(7) Without prejudice to other Community provisions concerning the marketing and use of asbestos, limiting the activities involving exposure to asbestos should play a very important role in preventing the diseases associated with such exposure.
(8) The notification system for activities involving exposure to asbestos should be adapted to new work situations.
(9) It is important to eliminate activities which expose workers to asbestos fibres during the extraction of asbestos or the manufacture and processing of asbestos products or the manufacture and processing of products containing intentionally added asbestos fibres, in view of their high and unpredictable level of exposure.
(10) Taking account of the latest technical expertise, it is necessary to specify more precisely the sampling methodology used to measure the asbestos level in air and the method of counting fibres.
(11) Even though it has not yet been possible to identify the exposure threshold below which asbestos does not involve a cancer risk, the limit value for occupational exposure to asbestos should be reduced.
(12) Employers should be required to record, before the start of any asbestos removal project, the presence or presumed presence of asbestos in buildings or installations and communicate this information to others who may be exposed to asbestos as a result of its use, of maintenance or of other activities in or on the building.
(13) It should be ensured that demolition or asbestos removal work is carried out by undertakings which are familiar with all the precautions to be taken in order to protect workers.
(14) Special training for workers exposed or likely to be exposed to asbestos should be provided in order significantly to contribute to reducing the risks related to such exposure.
(15) The content of the exposure register and medical records provided for in Directive 83/477/EEC should be brought into line with the records referred to in Council Directive 90/394/EEC of 28 June 1990 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens at work (Sixth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)(8).
(16) The practical recommendations on the clinical surveillance of exposed workers should be updated in the light of the latest medical expertise, with a view to the early detection of pathologies linked to asbestos.
(17) Since the objective of the proposed action, namely improvement in the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale and effects of the action, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.
(18) The amendments contained in this Directive constitute a concrete contribution towards creating the social dimension of the internal market.
(19) These amendments are limited to the minimum in order not to impose an unnecessary burden on the creation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
(20) Directive 83/477/EEC should therefore be amended accordingly.