Firms face huge costs over radiation law

BUSINESS owners could face massive costs under a new European Union directive to combat radiation damage, it was warned over the weekend.

The Irish Engineering Enterprises Federation (IEEF) said the proposed EU directive on optical radiation would require employers to carry out risk assessments on the level of exposure in the workplace.

Paul Kelly, director of the IEEF, blasted the proposals as excessively costly and claimed they would result in a bureaucratic nightmare for business.

“This plan will not improve workers’ health and safety, but will just add to the bureaucracy faced by businesses operating in the EU,” Paul Kelly, director of the IEEF, said.

“No proper impact assessment was carried out on the proposal and it is written in language which is so complex that it is completely beyond the understanding of most employers unless they were to be given detailed guidance.”

Under the directive all employers would have to carry out checks on all sources of optical radiation in the workplace.

This would include analysing the optical radiation from scanners, lasers in CD drives and measuring devices.

The European Parliament is due to vote on the new proposals on optical radiation today.

“Unfortunately it looks as if the proposal will be rubber-stamped by the European Parliament,” Mr Kelly said.

The federation said the industry had already developed a set of internationally recognised standards for people, like surgeons or machine operators, who work with optical tools.

“The plan could open up a Pandora’s box of litigation, with employers wondering how to deal with compensation claims from employees arising from the consequences of exposure to optical radiation, which everyone who takes a walk on a sunny day or goes to a nightclub also faces,” Mr Kelly claimed.