EUROPEAN COMMISSION Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion DG

Transcription

1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion DG Employment Health, and Safety ADOPTED VERSION Minutes of the WPC Meeting on the 16/17 March 2016 in Euroforum Building, Conference room, 10 Rue Stumper, Luxembourg Attendance: GOVERNMENTAL: Robin FOSTER/UK Reetta ORSILA / FI (rapporteur) Ilse VAN DEN AKER/NL Matthieu LASSUS /FR WORKERS: Frank BARRY/IE Tony MUSU/BE Henning WRIEDT/DE Christoph STREISLER/AT EMPLOYERS: Patrick LEVY/FR Isabel MAYA RUBIO/ES Martin WIESKE/DE Maurizio COLOMBO/IT Commission services: Alick MORRIS (DG EMPL) Nuria CAVALLE OLLER (DG EMPL) Christoph KLEIN (DG EMPL) Karola Grodzki (DG EMPL) Timothy HARRIS (DG EMPL) Alexandra EFTIMIE (DG EMPL) Jorge COSTA-DAVID (DG EMPL) Mariana FERNANDES DE BARROS (DG GROW) Christian HEIDORN (DG ENV) External experts (for specific agenda items) Elke Schneider (OSHA) Raymond Vincent (INRS/FR) 1

2 1. Adoption of the draft Agenda The agenda was approved. 2. Formalities The meeting noted that GIG interest group has a new representative from Germany. The representative of The Netherlands will attend the meetings when the German representative is not able to attend. The chairman will be Isabel Maya Rubio (EIG) and the rapporteur will be Reetta Orsila (GIG) for the period Adoption of the minutes of the meeting held on 7 th 8 th October 2015 and discussion on associated actions The Commission said that regarding the discussion on limit values, it should be discussed how to develop the methodology and how to enhance synergies between REACH and OSH. The minutes of the previous meeting was approved with small adjustments: any repetitions will be deleted, and the correct abbreviation for Austria is AT, not AU. The meeting decided that the drafted minutes of the meeting will be uploaded to Circabc platform (under the space called '99. Working Space draft docs for comments) and all working party members are provided the opportunity to comment on it. 4. Roundup of significant topical issues at EU and national level of interest to WPC members Robin Foster asked that members continue the procedure adopted under the previous rotation of roles whereby those contributing to the round up send a summary to the rapporteur (now Reetta Orsila), as this greatly facilities the task of preparing the minutes. Foster told that in the UK HSE has recently launched its new strategy for occupational health and safety Helping Great Britain work well ( The second of six strategic themes is Tackling ill-health, illustrating the continuing national importance of this issue. The strategy states Work-related ill health is a problem for every section of society, with conditions ranging from cancer and other long-latency diseases, to stress and musculoskeletal disorders, and notes that tackling ill-health will require long-term and coordinated action across all sectors. Reducing exposure to hazardous chemicals is a key part of the strategy. At EU level, and picking up on matters noted at the October WPC meeting, the 8 th Adaptation to Technical Progress (ATP) aligning CLP with the 5 th edition of the GHS was agreed by Member States in October 2015, and the 9 th ATP adding new and revised harmonised classifications to Annex VI of CLP was agreed in February Another issue of interest currently under active discussion is the harmonisation 2

3 of information on chemical products to be sent to national poison centres for use in emergency medical response. A vote was anticipated in April 2016 [note: subsequently postponed to June.] Isabel Maya Rubio stated that the OELs document with the updated Occupational Exposure Limit Values for Spain for 2016 has been published. Preliminary work for the 2017 update is being carried out. In addition she told that the Regional government of the autonomic community of Catalonia is working in a database of exposure to carcinogens. In 2016 it is foreseen to collect information about exposure in the companies with the collaboration of the Mutuals (Spanish companies that collaborate with the Social Security in the compensation and medical assistance occupational accident or illness). Reetta Orsila told that Finland is setting new OEL values. Martin Wieske informed that - During the last meeting of German AGS (Hazardous substances committee) the overlap between TTIP and national OSH legislation was presented. Preliminary conclusion was that no crucial aspects were identified where a position of the AGS would be needed. - In Germany a list of recommended measurement techniques for carcinogenic substances with established exposure risk relationship as well as with national OEL is under construction. It is envisaged that this will be published in German ministry BMAS published end of 2015 an analysis on the consequences of a legal classification. The report is supplemented by a database (basically an Excel-Sheet) in which an easy search for all regulatory effects can be performed once a hazardous endpoint changes. The report as well as the database (only German language) are available here: Error! Reference source not found. - At the next meeting of AGS in May 2016 the NO and NO2 values as proposed by SCOEL are intended to be taken over as national binding OELs. In addition a position on the overlap between REACH and OSH will be presented which might be used by AGS and/or BMAS at the European scale as well. Henning Wriedt added that at its meeting in November 2015, the Committee on Hazardous Substances endorsed the risk-based concentration values for 1,2-dichloroethane to be included in the list of risk-based concentration values for carcinogens (published in table 1 of annex 1 of TRGS 910; cf.: He told that for the transposition of Dir. 2014/27/EU (implementation of the CLP system in the respective OSH directives) in Germany, the Ordinance on Hazardous Substances (Gefahrstoffverordnung) is to be amended. Originally, the amendment was planned for June 2015, but has been delayed due to disagreement on another issue, not related to the implementation of the CLP system, but intended to be revised at the same time. According to the revised time-table (as of early March), the amendment of the Ordinance is likely to be accomplished not earlier than late

4 Ilse van den Aker told that the conference on work-related cancer in NL will give detailed information, e.g. with the help of patient videos. The conference will also deal with information exchange. Different working groups will discuss, among other subjects, risk assessment and workrelated limit values and good practices. The NL representative also told that NL is worried about bisphenol A, both from the point of view of occupational health and public health. NL hopes that SCOEL would reconsider bisphenol A. The representative of OSHA told that the future campaign on chemicals will utilise the key messages from the campaign in The aim is to collect case studies during the new campaign and to find new tools for good practices. The campaign also takes account of employees in special risk groups. OSHA requests for an active input from the Member States for the campaign, for example dissemination of information with the help of existing publications. Maurizio Colombo told that formaldehyde exposure has been discussed in Italy. The discussions have mainly focused on critical issues. IT has also discussed silica exposure. IT promised to deliver a translation of the formaldehyde paper into English. Patrick Levy said that France has been an active party in decreasing the exposure to bisphenol A in the EU when EFSA has decreased the value. The representative also said that the discussion is focused on the risks occurring in cashier work. Martin Wieske told that in Germany there has been a lot of discussion on formaldehyde and nitric oxides. The representative noted that regulation is mostly uniform in the EU. Matthieu Lassus noted that RMO values are close to SCOEL values. FR is reforming its limit value system and trying to make it more flexible. The representative noted that measurements without a good methodological basis are not useful for authorities nor for employers. Henning Wriedt said that in the discussion of such issues, any technical difficulties (e.g. feasibility) need to be kept separate from scientific issues. The representative noted that in the discussion in Germany scientists have not reached unanimity about the threshold value regarding carcinogenicity of crystalline silica. Tony Musu stated that ETUC has just published their campaign on stopping cancer. The representative noted that ETUC demands 50 binding limit values in the EU. The different services of the Commission provided an update on several issues, including: Recent developments under REACH There is work being done on improving the workability of authorisation applications, namely on the simplification of the authorisation process for the use of substances in some specific cases. The draft Regulations to amend Annex XVII to REACH as regards chrysotile and inorganic ammonium salts are under the scrutiny of the Parliament and Council. 4

5 Ongoing preparatory work of COM to amend Annex XVII to REACH as regards bisphenol A and decabde. A template on the safe of mixtures information (SUMI) has been released in the context of the developments being done under the CSR/ES roadmap, among other things. The user-friendliness of the ECHA website has been enhanced. ReFit of chemicals legislation (excluding REACH) Work on REFIT is progressing in the Commission. The representative noted that a person responsible for the REFIT programme may attend the next WP Chemicals. Risk Management Option Analysis At the recent meeting of RiME (February 2016) there was a session on the REACH and OSH legislation interface. DG EMPL also attended the meeting. EU Health Biomonitoring Initiative An update was given on the EHBMI proposal, the final evaluation results are expected around mid- June. This five-year programme for EU biomonitoring should start by the end of Decision: WPC agenda for the meeting in June shall include information on different campaigns, including any joint projects of the social partners. Short presentations, from 5 to 10 minutes. 5. Ex-post evaluation of EU OSH acquis EMPL reported on progress regarding the ex-post evaluation of EU OSH acquis which is being carried out in accordance with the OSH framework Directive that requires the Commission to report to the other Institutions on implementation of the Directives. EMPL stated that, based on the current understanding of new procedures arising from the Better Regulation Package no public consultation is needed for this report since social policy already actively engages key external stakeholders, The document prepared by a drafting group of the WPC collecting the views on the ex-post evaluation as regards EU OSH chemicals legislation (meeting 18 th November 2015) was discussed and some minor changes were made: 1) Including need for guidance and methodology 2) A more detailed explanation of how feasibility factors are taken into account 3) The basis on which an OEL is set should be indicated. 4) The fundamental role of SCOEL in the limit setting process for workers' health protection. 5

6 6. Amendment of Directive 2004/37/EC on carcinogens and mutagens 6.1 Current state of play and future developments The Commission's preparations to amend directive 2004/37/EC have advanced quite far. The Commission will probably submit its directive proposal for adoption in May 2016, and the discussion in the Council's working group may start in June During the first phase, OELs for 12 or 13 substances will be added to the directive. In the directive proposal in the second phase, substances relevant with regard to REACH regulation (No 1907/2006) will probably be added. The Commission emphasised that diesel emissions, for example, may be included in Annex I with a possible limit value in Annex III, though this cannot be confirmed at present. The group requested to improve the information about the status of this file, specially taking into account the fast progress that may be done between meetings of the WPC, as it has been the case in the latter months. DG EMPL emphasized its goal of having BOELs for 50 carcinogens included in annex III by 2020 by adding BOELs on an annual basis. Decision: EMPL will present the state of play regarding a possible proposal amending the CMD at the next meeting Agreement on criteria and selection of priority carcinogens for future evaluation by SCOEL. The priority list that Henning Wriedt had sent was discussed for the part of carcinogenic substances. The meeting noted that different sources of information can be used: reports from interest groups (research institutions, industry, trade unions) and IOM reports. It would be useful to include reprotoxic substances in the list, for example lead and its organic compounds. Henning Wriedt made a presentation about substances that should be given a BOELV value according to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). He had collected a list on potentially relevant carcinogens. Henning defined two subgroups: 1) current carcinogens 2) potential carcinogens. He had also used REACH registration data. Henning had read the description of each substance and checked the registration situation from the ECHA website. After that, he had defined four levels of relevance: 1) full relevance 2) restricted relevance 3) unclear relevance 4) no relevance. The last level means substances without registration data or ongoing processes. Also mixtures that result from processes and traditional, non-registered substances are taken into account in Henning's report. The WPC thanked Henning Wriedt for his valuable presentation and report. 6

7 EMPL presented a short list of chemicals deemed to be priority for scientific evaluation and further establishment of OELs at EU level, and explained the criteria used for its derivation. Some comments were collected among the group members. The list will be amended accordingly and published in Circabc. Decision: Discussion will continue on the consistency of the list: which are the next priority substances. The meeting noted that the list is just a draft at the moment. 6.3 Information requirements in articles 4 and 6 of the CMD. Exchange of experiences at national level. Regarding the information requirements laid down in the carcinogens and mutagens directive (CMD), the employer is responsible for finding out why it is not possible to substitute a substance. The WPC discussed how the information requirements of the CMD have been implemented in different MSs. In certain MSs there are registers maintained by employers and registers maintained by national research institutions. EMPL suggested that case studies on substitution could be made. Decision: The discussion continues at meetings in June and October. The sub-working group set earlier will continue to work on this topic with the aim of making an initial collection of views and good practices at national level th and 5 th lists of Indicative Occupational Exposure Limit Values (IOELVs) EMPL stated that they plan to present the proposal for the 4th list of indicative limit values to the MSs in June EMPL stated that the directive will be adopted through regulatory procedure with scrutiny (formerly known as comitology procedure) The candidate IOELVs for the 5th limit value directive will be discussed when the procedure on the 4 th list is close to an end. The item is kept in the agenda of the working party on chemicals but no substantive discussion on substances will take place in the June meeting. EMPL emphasised that carcinogenic substances in categories 1A or 1B shall always be regulated by binding limit values under the CMD. Decision: The 4th limit value directive will progress and be discussed in a meeting with the Member States (comitology procedure). 8. REACH and working with DG GROW, DG ENV and ECHA. EMPL emphasised that the collaboration between ECHA and SCOEL has become closer. In particular there is on-going cooperation on: - joint-task force for NMP: reports expected by the end of March. 7

8 - general task-force on the approaches and methodologies used for deriving DNELs/OELs (comparison of methodologies, approach to non-threshold substances, consideration of dermal risk). A common understanding paper is expected to be prepared by the end of 2016 by the 3 DGs (EMPL, ENV, GROW). There will be more collaboration between ECHA (RAC) and SCOEL. The Commission Directorate Generals want to find synergies between REACH and OSH where possible but there are no plans to adjust the legal texts of REACH and OSH to each other. The 3 DGs emphasised that synergies are utilised, where possible. Specific consideration will be given to some identified issues, for example in the case on non-threshold carcinogens. 9. Formaldehyde SCOEL will probably adopt its Recommendation in their meeting in June. EMPL said that they will try to develop limit values for formaldehyde at EU level and an opinion of the ACSH would be necessary. The WPC discussed the plans to set the binding value on the basis of irritation. The meeting noted that, at present, it is impossible to substitute formaldehyde in some activities, for example when handling cadavers. Decision: Formaldehyde will be discussed at the meeting in June when SCOEL's Recommendation is expected to be available. 10. Hazchem@work The study project is progressing. The second interim report was received in November 2015 and was discussed in a meeting of the monitoring committee on the 18 th February Access to the test database has been provided to all the WPC members. Some members will send written comments on it to EMPL.B3. The contractor will make a presentation of the study in the WPC meeting of June. 11. SCOEL The SCOEL Secretary presented their activities. The operational basis has changed in SCOEL because cooperation of the group has been improved. They are now disseminating information more effectively than before. Regarding diesel exhaust gas, for example, two working groups are monitoring the mechanism. 12. Environmental Tobacco Smoke EMPL noted that this is included in WPC's mandate. However, WPC will not draw up an opinion for the Advisory Committee. EMPL is waiting for clearance from the hierarchy to withdraw this item form the mandate. 8

9 13. Exposure to hazardous chemicals during the opening of containers at ports and other workplaces The WPC noted that the guidance document of France is a good starting point for discussion. The representative of OSHA told that the Agency's Governing Board decided to include this topic in OSHA's work plan. A report will be published in One of the main subjects during the discussion was national inspectors' safety issues regarding containers. There are safety risks especially in situations where gas is formed but it is not possible to trace which gas it is. The obligation to inform was discussed. EMPL emphasised that CAD/CMD must take into account risk assessment regarding employees unloading containers. ENV stated that, under certain conditions, there is a link to REACH regarding the unloading of articles from containers and placing on the market information requirements. This topic is relevant to other DGs of the Commission services, including DG MOVE and the lead DGs for REACH (ENV and GROW). Decision: The discussion will continue at the next meeting. 14. Exposure to hazardous chemicals in the aviation sector EMPL stated that there is no information on this topic and it should be discussed again at a future meeting. 15. Nanomaterials EMPL stated that EU OSHA has a good website on nanomaterials, including information on the health and construction sectors. The meeting noted that the definition of nanomaterials is now progressing in the process of public consultation. At present the setting up of an EU nano observatory is under consideration. Also, EU representatives held a recent meeting with US authorities. Decision: The discussion and follow-up will continue. 16. Candidate topics for the next WPC mandate together with update and current state of play 9

10 It was agreed to start working on a new mandate document in the meeting of June, to be finalised in the October meeting, in order to submit it for the Plenary meeting of the ACSH in November. The period for the new mandate would be of 3 years. 17. EU/SAWS China dialogue meeting It is anticipated that the EU/China dialogue meeting will take place on th September Both dates and topic of the meeting have to be confirmed. This year they will meet in Beijing and in 2017 they will meet in Brussels. The topic is still not decided. 18. Chemical risk management in SMEs Raymond Vincent (INRS) presented the software for risk assessment by SME's under title Assessment and information system for occupational chemical risks. He explained how the data system for chemicals data works. The system has been developed in cooperation with French institutions for national social insurance and employment services as well as trade unions representing chemical industry, paint industry and repair stations. The data system has been in use in France since June The software can be used in French, English, Italian and German. The software helps to identify potential risks. First an assessment of potential risks (risk analysis) is carried out and then the risks are assessed at the workplace. The main purpose of the software is to give a tool for example for risk prioritising. The software also includes a model for simulation of residual risk. It shows any exposure 1) via the skin 2) via inhalation 3) fire hazard etc. At the moment, 150 people have been trained to use the software. A call centre serves the users of the software five days a week. Additionally, regional forums and a webinar for 500 persons have been held. The software has been downloaded times. Its risk assessment is based on a three-level assessment: green, yellow and red. The meeting noted that the software seems to be a good tool for determining risk management measures. The representative of OSHA told that the software is a good tool for the campaign because it can be used in different languages. 19. Dates of meetings during 2016 Next meetings will be held on June and 5 6 October. Members can send subjects for the agenda of next meeting. 20. A.O.B. No items 10

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