#Romania2019.eu/Romanian Presidency at Council of EU and EP agreement on Directive on exposure of workers to carcinogens

The Romanian Presidency at the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement regarding the reduction of the exposure of workers to carcinogens and mutagens, informs the Council of European Union on Tuesday.

"The agreement on Tuesday represents an additional measure meant to protect the millions of workers exposed to carcinogens. When adopted, the directive will improve the working conditions for the workers in the EU and they will prevent thousands of cases of illness at the workplace," stated the Minister of Labour and Social Justice, Marius Budai.

After adoption, the directive will allow the member states to introduce stricter mandatory limit values and adopt additional measures, such as a limit biological value.

According to a release of the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice sent to AGERPRES, the provisional political agreement was obtained during the negotiations on Tuesday, January 29, 2019, on the 3rd revision of the Directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work (Directive 2004/37/EC). This revision will consolidate the workers rights to a high level of protection of health and security at the workplace.

The political agreement is going to be approved by the member states of the Council of EU.

The Directive proposes the reduction of professional exposure to five carcinogens and the establishment of safety limit values. The five targeted carcinogens are: cadmium and its inorganic compounds, beryllium and its inorganic compounds, arsenic acid and its salts, as well as inorganic compounds of arsenic, formaldehyde and 4,4'-methylenebis (2-chloroaniline) (MOCA).

After the adoption of this Directive, the European Commission must also assess the possibility of extending the scope to include a list of dangerous drugs, including cytotoxic drugs that are carcinogenic or mutagenic.

The proposal targeting these five new carcinogens and mutagens was launched by the European Commission in April 2018 and completes the list of 21 substances that have already been limited. This initiative will prove to be of great importance to the European citizens, with estimates showing that more than 1,000,000 EU workers will have improved working conditions. Introducing exposure limit values will not only help reduce cancers associated with work, but will also limit other health problems caused by carcinogenic and mutagenic substances. European limit values also promote a common and clear goal for employers, workers and law enforcement authorities. AGERPRES (RO - author: Mihaela Dicu, editor: Oana Tilica; EN - author: Cristina Zaharia, editor: Adina Panaitescu)