|
|
Focus
Communicating information about dangerous substances
European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2003
August 2003
The theme for this year's European Week for Safety and Health is the
prevention of risks from dangerous substances. The European Agency for
Safety and Health at Work along with all the Member States and also
those countries that are joining the Union are mounting a major campaign
to make people aware of the risks to their health when they work with
dangerous substances. This is the first pan-European campaign to reduce
the risks of chemicals, biological agents and other dangerous substances
at work - hazards that affect around a quarter of the EU's 150 million
employees. Cancers, asthmas and neuropsychiatric problems are just of
the illnesses that can be caused by the 100, 000 chemical marketed in
the EU, as well as biological agents.
Effective communication about the risks is a challenge for employers,
workers, their representatives and management.
The EU regulations on classification and labeling set the frame for
obligations of producers of chemical substances. They determine
important information to be provided in a standardised way in safety
labels, risk symbols and safety data sheets. The Council Directive
98/24/EEC of 7 April 1998 on the protection of the health and safety of
workers fro risks related to chemical agents at work specifies that
employers shall obtain additional information that is needed for risk
assessment from the supplier and/or other readily available sources. The
employers also have to ensure that the workers and/or their
representatives are informed and trained on:
- hazardous properties of the chemical agents handled
- the level, type and duration of exposure and the circumstances of
work involving such agents
- appropriate precautions to safeguard themselves and other workers
at the workplaces
- the effect of risk-management procedures taken or to be taken
- relevant occupational exposure limit values or biological limit
values
- where available, the conclusions to be drawn from any health
surveillance and exposure assessment already undertaken.
- additionally the employer shall also ensure that the workers are
aware of the changes in these circumstances.
Where to get help
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has produced a
range of publications to support the week, including:
- Communicating information about dangerous substances - FACTS 35
- Elimination and substitution of dangerous substances - FACTS 34
- An introduction to dangerous substances in the workplace - FACTS 33
FACTS 35 gives two very useful checklists
- Checklist for information for workers and
- Checklist for good communication between the employer and the workers
For general information about the Week visit the dedicated
multilingual website http://ew2003.osha.europa.eu.
As well as providing up-to-date information on the European Week
campaign, it gives easy access to a wealth of occupational health and
safety information on the Agency main website: http://osha.europa.eu.
For other useful sources visit the following:
- The interactive web site "COSHH essentials" hosted by
the UK Health and Safety Executive - this has been designed to
provide simple step-by-step guidance for small firms for assessment
and control of the dangerous substances that they use in the
workplace. www.coshh-essentials.org.uk.
- The Gestis-substance database www.hvbg.de/bia/gestis-database
of the German institutions for statutory accident insurance and
prevention makes information available for about 7,000 substances.
The system is linked to an exposure database (DOK-MEGA) www.hvbg.de/d/bia/fac/mega
and a safety datasheet databases (ISI) www.hvbg.de/d/bia/fac/isi-db
providing links to over 410,000 safety datasheets by 200 producers.
These are complemented by a database of combustion and explosion
characteristics (GESTIS-DUST-EX) www.hvbg.de/d/bia/fac/expl
of more than 4,000 dust samples covering most sectors of industry.
- The International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs) www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/cis/products/icsc
developed by three co-operating international organisations, the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International
Labour Office (ILO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the
context of co-operation with the European Communities, offer
information for more than 1,200 substances. An ICSC card summarises
essential health and safety information on chemicals for their use
at the shop floor level by workers and employers. The cards are also
available in other languages.
Finally using the www.oshworld.com
portal and going to the subject and country links will lead you easily
to other validated and authoritative sources of chemical information and
data sheets.
Make sure your workplace gets involved in the European Week in October 2003!
|
