What is the Agency doing on Dangerous Substances?

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What is the Agency doing on Dangerous Substances?

• Elke Schneider
• Project Manager
• Risk Observatory Unit

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European Agency for Safety and Health at Work -
established 1996
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Key Areas of Activity

• Network development building the links
• Information services - communicating knowledge
• Information projects developing knowledge

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Information Network
Community Partners
European Agency
Other EU Partners
Non-EU Partners
National Focal Points
Expert Groups
Topic Centres
National Networks
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Dangerous Substances Situation in the EU

• 16 of EU workers report handling dangerous
  substances, 22 being exposed to toxic vapours
• Skin diseases and asthma top occupational
  diseases in EU Member States
• Infectious diseases lead to long workplace
  absences
• 16 Mio registered chemical substances 100000
  marketed, 30000 commonly used
• for estimated about 20000 substances used in the
  workplace additional toxicological data are
  needed

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Dangerous substances - Activities

• Website information online - good practice
• Occupational exposure limits
• Frequently asked questions
• Good practice examples
• Links to Member state information
• Research activities
• Risk observatory
• European Week 2003 activities and products

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EW 2003 Campaign model

• October 2003 - Decentralised European campaign
• Partnership approach - Agency, Focal Points,
  Social Partners, EU institutions, EU presidency
• EU, EFTA Candidate Countries
• Agency Funding
• European Good Practice Award
• Closing Event

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Key messages

• Most workplaces are concerned
• Dont forget the substances produced during work
  (dusts, fumes, mists, microorganisms)!
• Substitution is possible
• Risk assessment is essential
• Information has to be brought to workplaces
• Information has to be translated for workers and
  employers into practical guidance
• Hints and links to guidance and practical
  solutions

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EW 2003 Campaign material (1)

• Press material
• Six Fact sheets
• Introduction to DS in the Workplace
• Elimination and Substitution of DS
• Communication of information about dangerous
  substances
• Respiratory sensitisers
• Skin sensitisers
• Biological agents

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Factsheets 33/35 IntroductionInformation about
DS

• A strong EU legislative framework
• Employers have to assess risks
• Hierarchy of control measures with substitution
  as a priority
• Include substances generated during work
• OEL laid down in EU and Member States
• Checklist for information to workers
• Checklist for good communication between employer
  and workers
• Labels and Safety data sheets

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Factsheet 34 Substitution

• Substitution top priority EU strategy
• Where to start
• Guides for substitution
• Benefits from substitution
• A practical example The Danish MAL-KODE for
  paints

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Factsheets on respiratory and skin sensitisers

• What causes respiratory/skin problems
• What are allergic respiratory/skin diseases?
• What are respiratory/skin sensitisers
• Examples of potential sensitisers from natural
  origin / related occupations
• Preventing exposure
• Good Practice examples

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EW 2003 Campaign material (2)

• A Report Case studies of successful
  communication measures for the transmission of
  information relating to DS
• LAB-link (Denmark)
• Chemical and biological agents programme (Spain)
• Safety and health strategy against biohazards
  (Austria)
• Magazine
• Website dedicated multilingual information
  resource for the Week and in the future
• http//ew2003.osha.eu.int

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Website Information on Good Practice - Dangerous
Substances

• Information on OEL
• Case studies
• By industry/sector
• A-Z-list
• Risk assessment
• Health effects
• Policy
• Training
• FAQ
• Includes biological agents

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Good Practice Information for sectors

• Agriculture http//osha.eu.int/good_practice/secto
  r/agriculture
• Construction http//osha.eu.int/good_practice/sect
  or/construction/
• Educationhttp//osha.eu.int/good_practice/educati
  on/
• Fisheries http//osha.eu.int/good_practice/sector/
  fisheries/
• Health Care http//osha.eu.int/good_practice/secto
  r/healthcare/

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Good Practice OEL Activities

• FAQs on OEL in Occupational Safety and Health
  Systems
• FAQs on types of OEL
• Summary of MS information incl. Internet links to
  Organizations
• Non-MS information
• Preparation of EU Indicative limit values
• Non Internet Sources Reference Information

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Challenge Anticipating risks

• Community strategy on health and safety at work
  20022006
• Emphasises the need to build a genuine culture
  of risk prevention, () to anticipate risks and
  bring them under control
• Requires the Agency to act as a driving force in
  matters concerning awareness-building and risk
  anticipation
• Asks the Agency to create a Risk Observatory
  (RO), to provide forward-looking information for
  policy-makers
• In response, 2 activities within the RO
• Identification of emerging risks
• Identification of OSH priorities

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RISK OBSERVATORY- Objectives

• Provide an overview of OSH in Europe (no
  benchmarking or country comparisons)
• Highlight trends on OSH outcomes and risk factors
  
• Provide early identification of newly emerging
  risks in the workplace
• Identify areas/issues where more information
  needed

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3 FUNCTIONS

• Monitoring (identify trends, changes and risk
  factors, based on data collecting and analysis)
  ? Quantitative data
• Early warning (identify new issues through
  networks such as expert groups, labour
  inspection, company surveys.) ? Qualitative
  data, research
• Clearing house (provide input for tools, based on
  good practice, for preventive action)
• Good practice examples

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Identification of emerging OSH risks

• What are emerging risks?
• An emerging risk is both new and increasing.
• New means either that
• the risk was previously non-existent or
• a long-standing issue is now considered to be a
  risk due to
• a change in social or public perceptions or
• new scientific knowledge.
• The risk is increasing if
• the number of hazards leading to the risk is
  growing
• the likelihood of exposure to the hazard leading
  to the risk is increasing
• the effect of the hazard on workers health is
  getting worse.

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Delphi studies

• Definition emerging risks
• Questionnaire for chemical and biological agents
• Risks-substances-products-procedures
• Health effects-diseases
• Supporting references
• Part of an overall assessment incl. also
• Physical and mechanical
• Human, social and organisational

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Emerging chemical OSH risks

• Expert forecast
• Invited 152 / Responses 1st round 54 / 3rd
  round 49
• Exposure to nanoparticles and ultrafine particles
  (MV4,60) Nanoscale materials are increasingly
  being used in many contexts, but their risks are
  not fully understood
• Validation and improvement of models of
  assessment for worker exposure to chemicals
• Difficulties in assessing the exposure especially
  in PMEs (MV4,39) and for outsourced activities
  (MV4,34)
• Skin exposure (MV4,11)
• Measuring, modelling and risk assessment
• Exposure in waste treatment activities (MV4,11)
• Lack of information on effects of reprotoxicants
  (MV3,85)

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OSH research priorities the EU

• At the Commissions request, in 2004 the Agency
  prepared a short report on OSH priorities as
  input into the 7th FP
• The report focused on 4 areas
• Psychosocial work environment
• Musculoskeletal disorders
• Dangerous substances
• OSH management
• Seeking consensus on research priorities
• Necessary basis to co-ordinate research
  programmes and to argue for increased funding and
  visibility

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Risk observatory activities 2006-7

• Report on biological agents pandemics
• Report on emerging risks chemical
• Report on emerging risks biological
• Includes literature surveys related to
  nanotechnologies, chemicals management, etc.
• Data collection on skin problems and respiratory
  diseases
• Cooperation with SLIC on asbestos current risks

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Visit our Webpages

• http//osha.eu.int/good_practice/risks/dangerous_
  substances
• http//osha.eu.int/good_practice/risks/ds/oel/
• http//ew2003.osha.eu.int/
• http//osha.eu.int/research/rtopics/rds/
• http//riskobservatory.osha.eu.int/
• http//riskobservatory.osha.eu.int/risks/chemical
  

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• Thankyou for your attention!