Get documents about "The European Cement Industrya Health Perspective
Document Sample
EU Health & Safety Legislation Now
and Tomorrow
The European Cement Industry: a Health Perspective
CEMBUREAU General Assembly
Stockholm
June 13, 2006
Ursula Schliessner
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
I. Introduction
Health related regulation is scattered in different areas:
Workers Safety
Chemicals*
Products**
* REACH; Classification, packaging and labeling of substances & preparations (Dir. 67/548, 1999/45: safety data sheets,
chromium VI labeling); Marketing & Use Restrictions Directive 76/769 ( example: Chromium VI)
** Construction Products Directive 89/106 (Products must be safe for occupants, neighbors and other users, Annex I); Dir. 85/374
product liability; Dir. 2001/95 product safety) 2
II. Workers Safety Legislation
There is a large number of Directives* setting minimum
requirements all based on the same principles.
* Dir. 89/391 (base); Dir. 98/24 chemicals at work; Dir. 2004/37 carcinogens/mutagens at work (Binding limit values for benzene,
vinylchloride monomer, hardwood dusts); Others (Dir. 83/477 asbestos at work; Dir. 2003/10 physical agents (noise); Dir. 89/655
work equipment; Dir. 2000/54 biological agents; Dir. 1999/92 explosive atmospheres; Dir. 94/33 on protection of young people at
work; Dir. 92/104 workers in surface and underground mineral-extracting industries; and drilling 92/91; Dir. 92/85 pregnant,
recently given birth, and breastfeeding workers; Dir. 92/58 safety & health signs at work; Dir. 92/57 temporary and mobile
construction sites; Dir. 91/322 indicative limit values; Dir. 90/270 display screen equipment; Dir. 90/269 manual handling of loads
(risk of back injury); Dir. 2006/15; Dir. 89/656 personal protective equipment; Dir. 89/654 workplace; and Recommendation
66/464 medical control) 3
Principles of Workers Protection Legislation
Avoid
Risk Assessment of specific risks
work place (on the basis of
Combat risks
safety data sheet, other at source
available info, measuring) Adapt work to
individual
Risk management
if risk identified Replace dangerous by non
or less dangerous
Training & consultation
Develop coherent overall prevention
Evaluation policy
Collective measures take priority over
individual measures (e.g. PPE)
4
Examples of Risk Assessment and Risk
Management (Negative)
5
Examples of Risk Assessment and Risk
Management (Positive)
Cables routed under the walkway
6
Example of Risk Assessment and Risk
Management (Negative)
7
Example of Risk Assessment and Risk
Management (Positive)
8
Self-regulation may also be used in the
workers safety area: so-called Social
Dialogue
Member States may entrust Social Partners, at their joint
request, with the implementation of Directives
Conclusion of Social Dialogue Agreements upon joint
request (9 months suspension of legislative process)*
Experience:**
Currently 31 sectoral Social Dialogue committees incl. construction,
mining and chemicals. CEMBUREAU not member. Indirectly
CEMBUREAU may be impacted because of its suppliers/customers.
Very few Social Dialogue Agreements.
* Implementation possible by a) procedures/practices social partners and Member States, or b) Council Decision/Directive upo n
Commission proposal
** At earlier stages, agreements at horizontal level implemented by Council Directives (part-time work, parental leave , fixed-term
work, etc.); now “autonomous” horizontal or sectoral agreements, e.g. stress at work (horizontal); telework (sectoral); vocat ional 9
training in agriculture, working time in civil aviation; age diversity in commerce; telework in telecommunications sector
Silica
CEMBUREAU participated along 14 other industry associations and two
employee organizations (EMCEF, EMF) in negotiation of Social Dialogue
Agreement on “Workers health protection through the good handling and
use of crystalline silica and products containing it”
Novel because:
• First Agreement on a substance
• First multi-sector Agreement
• First Agreement with parties not members of existing SD sector committees
• First Agreement directly applicable
• Very detailed (compared to existing SDAs)
• Extensive monitoring and reporting scheme
• Self-initiated (not in response to First or Second Stage consultation)
10
11
III. Chemical Legislation
REACH will impact health protection, but changes will not be
dramatic.
Increased supply of information
Less divergences
More record keeping
12
Existing Requirements REACH Requirements
• Classification, packaging, labeling under Dir. 67/548 and • Same
1999/45 of dangerous* substances and preparations – plus PBT and vPvB (Council);
– plus substances eligible for authorization
(EP)
– plus annex with exposure scenarios (with
related use and exposure categories, EP)
• Provision of safety data sheets (SDS) for dangerous • Same
substances and preparations and some non-dangerous
preparations to professional users before or at first delivery
• Obligation to revise SDS and inform customers, and to • Obligation to notify and update Agency on changes to
notify new information on previously notified substances to – hazard classification
MS – hazard label
“Classification and Labeling Inventory”
If information supplied results in different entries of
the same substance, the notifiers and registrants
shall make every effort to come to an agreed entry
to be included in the Inventory (Art. 110 REACH)**
Information in the Supply Chain (see following slides)
* 15 danger categories: explosive, oxidizing, extremely flammable, highly flammable, flammable, very toxic, toxic, harmful,
corrosive, irritant, sensitizing, carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic for reproduction, dangerous for the environment
** Art. 112 REACH: harmonized classification & labeling under Dir. 67/548 will continue only for carcinogenic, mutagenic or
reprotox, cat. 1, 2 and 3, and respiratory sensitizers. 13
Safety Data Sheets under REACH (current Dir.
2001/58)
1. Identification of the 7. Handling and Storage
substance/preparation and of the 7.1 Handling
company/undertaking 7.2 Storage
1.1 Identification of the substance or 7.3 Specific Uses
preparation 8. Exposure Controls/personal
1.2 Use of the S/P Protection
1.3 Company/undertaking identification 8.1 Exposure limit values
1.4 Emergency telephone 8.2 Exposure controls
2. Hazards Identification
9. Physical and chemical properties
3. Composition/Information or 9.1 General information
Ingredients 9.2 Important health, safety and
(= all hazard information) environmental information
9.3 Other information
4. First Aid Measures
10. Stability and Reactivity
5. Fire Fighting measures 10.1 Conditions to avoid
10.2 Materials to avoid
6. Accidental Release Measures 10.3 Other information
14
11. Toxicological information ANNEX (NEW!):
12. Ecological information Exposure scenarios (based on
12.1 Ecotoxicity chemical safety report, i.e. above 10
12.2 Mobility tons and subject to registration and
12.3 Persistence and
degradability dangerous/PBT/vPvB = Article 13
12.4 Bioaccumulative potential REACH)
12.5 Results of PBT
assessment
12.6 Other adverse effects
13. Disposal Considerations
14. Transport information
15. Regulatory information
16. Other information
(e.g. key data, training,
recommendations on use
restrictions)
15
NOTE: SDS
• TO BE PROVIDED IN NATIONAL LANGUAGES
• TO BE UPDATED (and sent even to previous
customers of last year)
• TO BE DATED
• PERSONS in charge MUST BE REGULARLY
TRAINED
• To be made available to workers
16
Information in supply chain when SDS not
required
Registration number
Details on authorization
Details on restrictions
“Any other available and relevant information about the
substance that is necessary to enable appropriate risk
management measures to be identified and applied”
Info to be made available to workers
To be updated
Also to previous (12 months) customers
17
Record Keeping*
Assembly and keeping of all information required to carry
out duties under REACH for at least 10 years after last
manufacture, import, supply or use
This obligation is transferred in case of company
transfer/cessation upon successor
Obligation upon manufacturers, importers, downstream
users and distributors
Conclusion/consequence:
Install a procedure
and a system !
* Article 33 18
Conclusions REACH: Not so many changes
for cement industry
Communicate in the supply chain
Change SDS
Install record-keeping system
19
Legal Consequences from Failure to Comply
with Information Requirements under REACH
National administrative / criminal law penalties/fines
Criminal law sanctions in case failure can be considered a
negligent/intentional wrong-doing / omission leading to e.g. an injury /
fatality
Damage claims under national toxic tort law if damage caused
negligently by inaccurate / incomplete / lacking information that caused
damage
Strict product liability if failure amounts to “defect” of a product
Contractual liability in case supply contract provides for “compliance with
all applicable laws”
Product recall under product safety legislation only in case of “consumer
products”
20
IV. Product Regulation
Business as usual except for revision of Construction
Products Directive
21
V. Tomorrow
Legislative/Regulatory Program
Adoption of REACH will lead to increased flow of information
up and down supply chain, increased availability of
information on substances and will therefore necessitate
updating of work place risk assessments
Adoption of new Community program 2007-2012 on H&S at
work will increase focus on multisource agents and risks,
facilitate setting of limit values.
Revision of Construction Products Directive and standards
may increase health and environmental standards of
products
22
Other
Sectoral Social Dialogue as self-starter creating pressure on
human resources of associations
Empty national health budgets to increase focus on
employer responsibility/liability for occupational diseases
and accidents and more prevention
Aging workforce will create challenges also in terms of risk
assessment and risk management at the work place
Large disparity in national H&S protection levels and within
sectors. No level-playing field
23
