EU tackles handling of dangerous workplace chemicals

MENTION chemicals and people tend to think of smoking chimneys and foul smells. But few think of the hairdressers, mechanics, printers and other ordinary workers whose work brings them into very close contact with dangerous substances.

The past few days have seen a major focus on chemicals by the European Commission. First a radical plan to change the way chemicals are tested and approved for use was unveiled by the commissioners responsible for environment and for enterprise.

And yesterday some startling facts about dangerous workplace substances were revealed by the Employment and Social Affairs Commissioner, Anna Diamantopolou. For instance 32 million workers in the EU are exposed to potentially lethal agents.

The estimated 100,000 chemicals and biological agents sold in the union can cause some serious ailments, including, cancers, asthma and neuro- psychiatric problems.

Many of these substances are responsible for many of the 350 million days lost through occupational ill-health in the EU, and for the estimated seven million people suffering from illnesses caused by their occupations.

The first pan-European survey carried out on the problem reveals that almost a quarter of workers inhale fumes and vapours for at least a quarter of their working time; two thirds of the 30,000 most commonly used chemicals in use in the 15 member states have not been fully tested for toxicity; according to one study just one in eight companies obey the rules to reduce the risks of substances known to be toxic.

All this is even more alarming when you take into account the fact that almost all of the 36,000 firms involved in the chemical industry are small to medium sized and have little or no expertise on toxicology.

Workers who are not employed in the chemical industry should be concerned also as the high risk jobs are in other areas, such as garages, printers and hairdressers. So the problem is often a hidden one with workers frequently ignorant of the risks and with little know-how on protection.

There are a range of directives and laws designed to protect workers with the overall emphasis of EU strategy based on eliminating the risks and substituting dangerous chemicals with safer products.

The latest attempt to gain greater control over chemicals, not just in the workplace but in our everyday lives, was the proposal for a new chemicals policy that has been welcomed by environmental groups.

But at a meeting of Europe’s enterprise ministers in Brussels yesterday its wideranging scope frightened off a number of countries’ representatives, including the Irish Enterprise Minister, Mary Harney. She warned Europe’s citizens wanted a prosperous and wealthy union and that the kind of stringent plan being proposed by the Commission would frighten off the chemical industry.

The danger, she said, was that the measures would make Europe less competitive than the US with a consequent loss of jobs. Hopefully balance will not be judged on the standards of other countries. A more radical approach could just generate more wealth and prosperity rather than sticking to the old fashioned standards.

An example of this was unveiled this week when a more comprehensive series of drugs’ safety tests was announced. It has the added advantage of replacing animal testing, ensuring greater safety of the drugs and being cheaper in the long run and saleable to laboratories around the world.