European Agency for Safety and Health at Work — EU-OSHA
HEALTHY WORKPLACES CAMPAIGN 2018-19
‘HEALTHY WORKPLACES MANAGE DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES’
CAMPAIGN STRATEGY
January 2017
1. Introduction
2. Campaign strategy
2.1. Structure of the campaign
2.2. Aims and objectives of the campaign
2.3. Target audience
2.4. Campaign slogan and title
3. Campaign messages
3.1. Message 1: Work together to tackle risks from dangerous substances - establish a prevention culture
3.2. Message 2: Dangerous substances - they affect your workplace, too
3.3. Message 3: Managing dangerous substances - as relevant and important as ever
3.4. Message 4: Follow the legislation - apply the most effective prevention measures first
3.5. Message 5: First try to eliminate the risk - consider practical solutions for substitution
3.6. Message 6: Managing dangerous substances - guidance and support are available
3.7. Message 7: Pay particular attention to carcinogens
3.8. Message 8: Some groups of workers are especially at risk - take their needs into account
3.9. Message 9: Be aware that there is a legislative framework to protect workers from dangerous substances
4. Selected tools and strategies
4.1. Support for networks of partners
4.2. Campaign promotion and information products
4.3. Campaign online tools
4.4. Campaign events and activities
4.5. Campaign media and PR activities
4.6. Campaign resources
ANNEX 1
Timetable and milestones
1. Introduction
This paper describes the strategy of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) for the forthcoming ‘Healthy Workplaces Manage Dangerous Substances’ Campaign 2018-19 (HWC 2018-19).
Why a pan-European campaign on Dangerous Substances?
1. The challenges of dangerous substances
Most workplaces may be affected by exposure to dangerous substances.¹ Although policy and industry have reacted to major chemical accidents and poisonings in recent decades, surveys such as the second edition of the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER-2) have demonstrated that dangerous substances are still an important occupational safety and health (OSH) topic for enterprises.² Sectors reporting a high presence of such substances include agriculture, forestry and fishing (62 %); construction, waste management, and water and electricity supply (51 %); and manufacturing (52 %). Furthermore, there is some evidence that people working in growth sectors such as social and health care, transport, waste management and the HORECA sector may experience high levels of exposure to dangerous substances.
A high proportion of the occupational diseases included in the annexes to the European schedule of occupational diseases are caused by exposure to dangerous substances.³ A number of emerging diseases may also be caused by dangerous substances (e.g. reproductive disorders, neurological diseases, work-related cancer, allergies and respiratory diseases).
Dangerous properties of substances include not only the risk of intoxication and short or long-term health damage. Many substances are flammable or explosive, or at least may cause a risk of fire and explosion when combined with other substances.
Carcinogens are among the most critical dangerous substances. The European Union (EU) OSH Strategic Framework 2014-20⁴ has a special focus on them. They cause serious occupational diseases and, according to International Labour Organization (ILO) and EU figures, they are the cause of most fatal occupational diseases in the EU. ⁵ ⁶ ⁷
Enterprises still encounter difficulties when tackling risks related to dangerous substances, as evidenced by the latest Senior Labour Inspectors Committee (SLIC) inspection campaign on 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 dangerous substances,⁸ in which 26 Member States participated. In addition, new challenges to workplace management of dangerous substances have emerged in new professions, such as green jobs, and regarding the use of nanomaterials and endocrine disrupters.
2. Legal obligations
OSH legislation is specifically aimed at the protection of workers from dangerous substances in the workplace. It points to the responsibility of employers for safety and health and refers to the overarching OSH directives, such as the European Framework Directive on Safety and Health at Work.
The EU OSH legislative framework relates not only to man-made chemicals but also to dangerous substances that are found in nature (e.g. asbestos, heavy metals, plants or products from plants like flour) or that originate from industrial processes or working operations. Examples include dusts of various types, welding fumes, diesel exhaust and substances generated during heating or burning. For such substances, a specific risk assessment in the workplaces is always obligatory.
Many articles of EU legislation regulate the conditions under which dangerous substances can be manufactured, treated or used, mainly OSH and environmental legislation. A large number of regulations deal with specific groups of products, such as consumer products, or articles, such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medical products, detergents, food, toys, vehicles and batteries, but also products for professional uses such as inks and welding rods. The EU Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals⁹ (REACH) that entered into force in 2007 is intended to achieve an overall reduction in the use of hazardous chemicals.
In relation to classification, labelling and transport, international legislation, i.e. the Global Harmonized System (GHS) applies.¹⁰ During the past 10 years, the GHS has been introduced globally and with minor deviations by the EU as the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation and is now the valid background legislation for classification and labelling.
The most visible change for workers and employers is new labels signalling specific hazards (hazard pictograms).
3. EU policy framework
There is a strong link between the theme of the HWC 2018-19 and one of the three major OSH challenges identified in the EU OSH Strategic Framework 2014-2020, namely ‘to improve the prevention of work-related diseases by tackling new and emerging risks without neglecting existing risks’.
Issues related to HWC 2018-19 mentioned in the OSH Strategic Framework include cancer-causing occupational exposures, fatalities associated with chemical substances, diseases caused by asbestos, lung diseases, skin diseases, asthma and other chronic conditions; and nanomaterials, biotechnologies and green technologies. Furthermore, other topics referred to in the OSH Strategic Framework, such as workforce diversity, atypical contractual arrangements and work patterns, and a higher job turnover associated with shorter assignments, especially for younger workers, may have an impact on how well exposures to dangerous substances are assessed, recorded and controlled.
With regard to the priorities laid out in other policy documents, such as the EU 2020 Strategy¹¹ or the national OSH strategies, the campaign will also cover issues addressed in these documents and explore synergies with other EU institutions and agencies and their networks.
Finally, the campaign will also address the European Commission’s priorities following the evaluation of the OSH acquis and the amendments to the Carcinogens Directive. Furthermore, EU- OSHA is a signatory to the covenant committing to the EU Roadmap on Carcinogens 2016-2019.¹²
4. Need for a better understanding of the issue
There is a common misunderstanding that only man-made chemicals are dangerous substances. However, many dangerous substances in the workplace are not synthesised chemicals, but process-generated ones or are coming from natural sources. At the same time, there is an incorrect belief that the use of dangerous substances in general has decreased. While this may be true for the most well- known harmful exposures (e.g. polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), asbestos, mercury), there are many less well-known dangerous substances present in Europe’s workplaces. Therefore, there is a need for a clear message regarding the importance of hazard, exposure and risk assessment and preventive measures for all dangerous substances present at workplaces.
5. Need for practical support
There is a great variety of guidance available to support enterprises in managing dangerous substances. However, this information is dispersed between many different actors at national and European levels. Therefore, the campaign will try to compile the most relevant material available and provide access to a wide range of good practice examples and practical tools and instruments for managing dangerous substances. A special effort will be made to identify good practice examples for limiting exposure to carcinogens and to take into account the needs of specific groups of workers, such as women, migrants, young workers and maintenance and temporary workers or those with little training and information. This can be done by focusing on those sectors/occupations most concerned and building on examples and guidance highlighted in previous campaigns, such as on young workers and maintenance.
2. Campaign strategy
2.1. Structure of the campaign
This campaign will be the sixth campaign to be organised under the umbrella slogan ‘Safety and health at work is everyone’s concern. It’s good for you. It’s good for business.’ Like previous Healthy Workplaces Campaigns, it will be a decentralised campaign; it will be coordinated by EU-OSHA, but Member States, partner organisations and individual workplaces can tailor their participation to focus on their particular needs and priorities, running their own activities and producing their own materials.
EU-OSHA will also further develop and strengthen the campaign’s network-based approach, as a result of which it can count on the support of several important networks of partners, including:
• EU-OSHA’s network of national focal points, which is responsible for coordinating the campaign at the national level;
• the European social partners, representing the interests of workers and employers at the European level;
• its network of official campaign partners, consisting of pan-European and international organisations;
• its network of campaign media partners, consisting of a pool of journalists and editors from all over Europe interested in promoting OSH in general and the campaign in particular;
• the European institutions and their networks, in particular the incumbent Presidencies of the European Council;
• other EU agencies with an interest in the campaign topic, in particular the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME), the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), Eurofound and the Joint Research Centre (JRC);
• the Enterprise Europe Network, which provides EU-OSHA with a link to Europe’s micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.
2.2. Aims and objectives of the campaign
All Healthy Workplaces Campaigns pursue the following general strategic objectives:
• engaging stakeholders;
• awareness raising;
• encouraging activities that make an impact at workplace level;
• developing and providing access to practical tools and resources;
• identifying and sharing good practice examples and practical tools.
As regards the HWC 2018-19 in particular, the following five specific strategic objectives have been identified, based on the four priority themes identified in the HWC 2018-19 concept paper:¹³
1. Raising awareness of the importance and relevance of managing dangerous substances in many European workplaces by providing facts and figures on exposure to dangerous substances and the impact of this on workers.
2. Promoting risk assessment, elimination and substitution, and the hierarchy of prevention measures by providing information on practical tools and good practice examples.
3. Raising awareness of risks linked to exposure to carcinogens at work by supporting the exchange of good practices as a signatory to the covenant committing to the Carcinogens Roadmap.
4. Targeting groups of workers with specific needs and higher levels of risk, due to limited knowledge in relation to dangerous substances by providing facts and figures and good practice information.
5. Improving awareness of policy developments and the legislative framework by providing an overview of the existing framework and existing guidance.
2.3. Target audience
The campaign will be targeted primarily at intermediaries, which will help EU-OSHA to reach the campaign’s beneficiaries at workplace level.
INTERMEDIARIES
• focal points and their networks;
• social partners (European and national);
• sectoral social dialogue committees;
• policy-makers (European and national);
• large enterprises, sectoral federations, and associations of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
• European institutions and their networks (Enterprise Europe Network);
• European non-governmental organisations;
• OSH professionals and their associations;
• OSH research community;
• labour inspectorates and their associations;
• the media.
BENEFICIARIES
• Workers and employers in general, with a special emphasis on those in micro and small enterprises.
2.4. Campaign slogan and title
The existing slogan of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign will be maintained, underlining that prevention of work-related accidents and illnesses requires a proactive approach on the part of both employers and workers.
‘Safety and health at work is everyone’s concern. It’s good for you.
It’s good for business’
The official title of the campaign will be:
‘Healthy workplaces - manage dangerous substances’¹⁴
3. Campaign messages
In line with the five strategic campaign objectives identified, the following nine messages have been developed, which aim to respond to the general and specific features of the topic.
1. An effective management of dangerous substances at workplaces is only possible if all the actors at the enterprise level are well informed about the risks and the preventive measures and are involved in the risk assessment process. This message aims at promoting a prevention culture and reminding employers of the need to actively involve workers and other actors at the enterprise level. It is an umbrella message to the campaign.
2. Many employers and workers may believe that this campaign topic is not an issue for them because they do not deal with ‘chemicals’, owing to a misunderstanding of the difference between ‘dangerous substances’ and chemicals. Many dangerous substances, such as diesel engine exhaust emissions, welding fumes and dusts, are generated by work processes. The scope of the problem may be underestimated as a result of a focus on only some dangerous substances, synthesised chemicals. The second message is therefore that dangerous substances are present in many more workplaces than a non-expert might think.
3. The third message will address the incorrect belief that the use of dangerous substances has decreased. While it is true that - owing to political initiatives, legislation, public pressure and measures from enterprises/social partners - many well-known harmful exposures have been significantly reduced (e.g. PCB, asbestos, mercury), there are many less well-known dangerous substances present in many workplaces. In fact, there is a greater variety of dangerous substances at workplace level¹⁵ and the overall use of dangerous substances has not decreased. The campaign aims to address the need to manage them and share good practices.
4. The hierarchy of control measures (also referred to as the ‘STOP’ principle¹⁶) is the cornerstone of European OSH legislation to prevent risks from dangerous substances. The OSH legislative framework sets out a specific order in which prevention measures should be taken. Message four will aim to raise awareness of the need to eliminate risks and, if this is not possible, to put collective and organisational measures in place, and then if this is not possible, personal protection measures. It is necessary to stimulate the risk assessment process.
5. Elimination and substitution are a key part of the STOP hierarchy of principles. The fifth message aims to raise awareness of the many examples of successful substitution and the available guidance and instruments.
6. The sixth message concentrates on asserting that practical solutions are available and can be implemented in all enterprises. Risk assessment of workplace exposure to dangerous substances may seem difficult to non-experts because such risks are often not visible and not easy to assess. Knowledge and guidance play a greater role than in other areas.
7. Carcinogens are in the spotlight because of recent policy developments mentioned earlier in this document. Indeed, many of the substances and substance groups that workers are most exposed to are carcinogens, such as respirable crystalline silica or components of diesel engine exhaust emissions. This message aims to raise awareness of the many carcinogens at work and the special measures that should be taken to protect workers from them.
8. Risks from exposure to dangerous substances are not equally distributed. Some groups of workers may be more heavily exposed, and more at risk, because they are inexperienced, uninformed or physically more vulnerable, or because they frequently change jobs or work in sectors where awareness of the issue is low.
Therefore, their exposures may not be well assessed and well addressed. The eighth message aims to raise awareness of these groups and underline that it is important to assess
and address the specific risks for every worker.
9. There is a legislative framework that sets out the rules for the use of dangerous substances at work and supports employers in finding information about the effects of dangerous substances and protecting workers from the risks they entail. This message aims to raise awareness of the rules and regulations and remind people to check all the information that is available on the application of these rules.
3.1. Message 1: Work together to tackle risks from dangerous substances - establish a prevention culture
The HWC 2018-19 aims at establishing a prevention culture on dangerous substances across the EU and beyond. Consolidating and supporting the creation of such a risk prevention culture requires a good legislative basis with a high level of compliance, combined with effective social dialogue and measures to raise awareness about the risks, disseminate guidance and tools and exchange good practice. Management of dangerous substances should be integrated in systematic, sound and participative OSH management which in turn should be an integral part of work and the work procedures in order to prevent harm before it occurs. A positive safety culture is achieved when workers learn from insight and intuition rather than incidents, and change their ways of thinking and acting by sharing their experiences and addressing shared problems.¹⁷
An EU-OSHA-led campaign can contribute in many of these areas, but above all in the ‘building of partnerships’ to ensure that the often dispersed but valid scientific and practical knowledge is brought together and ‘translated’ into practical solutions for the management of chemical risks in the EU’s workplaces.
The campaign will promote good practice solutions to eliminate or reduce the health effects of exposure to dangerous substances. These include those resulting from combined exposures to chemical risk factors; chemical and physical risks; mixed chemical risks; low-level and long-term exposures; and exposures resulting from new technologies, such as those involving the use of nanomaterials. To tackle these complex issues remains a challenge for both workers and employers and the OSH experts that support risk assessment and the effective implementation of prevention measures at enterprise level. The campaign therefore aims to promote communication and consultation at the enterprise level of all concerned parties in order to ensure an effective and informed management of dangerous substances at all levels and effective communication between the actors. This is also particularly important regarding the specific groups of workers (further referred to in message 8), for example young workers, who may not be aware of the risks linked to dangerous substances. Workers are helping each other at the workplace and should be actively involved to help others not to expose themselves to risks.
Good training and understanding of the issues is an important prerequisite of the effective management of dangerous substances at workplaces. The campaign should therefore raise awareness of the need for employers to keep their workers informed and trained and consult them in case of changes to substances, products and work processes.
This message has to be regarded as the umbrella message of the campaign.
Message 1: Work together to tackle risks from dangerous substances - establish a prevention culture
3.2. Message 2: Dangerous substances - they affect your workplace, too
This message relates to the first strategic objective and highlights the need to raise awareness of the importance and relevance of managing dangerous substances in many European workplaces.
A common misunderstanding is that only chemicals are dangerous substances, but many dangerous substances in workplaces are not synthesised chemicals but process-generated chemicals from natural sources.
The first step to motivate employers and workers to gain more knowledge is creating awareness, particularly on the part of non-experts at workplaces.
This message has to be a kind of wake-up call. Its aim should not be to declare everything dangerous, but to show in how many sectors and workplaces dangerous substances can be found and that this can lead to unacceptably high levels of exposure for workers
Therefore, this message must challenge misunderstandings of what dangerous substances are and enhance awareness.
The aim is to make a non-expert audience in enterprises aware that dangerous substances encompass more than the typical substances that are often seen by laypeople as ‘chemicals’; these are, for example, ‘chemical-smelling’ liquids such as cleaning agents. To give one example, hair colourants, which often contain highly potent allergens that can lead to serious skin diseases in hairdressers, are often not regarded as dangerous substances by those who use them professionally. Such examples can be found in all sectors and occupations, and awareness is particularly low in the service sectors. Many commonly used products (textiles, sports equipment, cars, batteries, electronic equipment, etc.) involve the use of a large number of chemicals and workers may consequently be exposed during production and when using these at work.
An elementary pre-condition for awareness is that such substances must be regarded by employers and workers as what they are from a legal and scientific point of view: dangerous and consequently subject to OSH legislation on dangerous substances.
Dangerous substances in workplaces, may include, depending on the sector:
• synthesised chemicals (substances such as formaldehyde for disinfection, fragrances for cosmetics) and chemical products such as plastics;
• process-generated substances (welding fumes, diesel engine exhaust emissions, dust);
• materials extracted from nature (heavy metals, crude oil, marble, quartz; asbestos, flour, etc.);
• chemical formulations, such as mixtures of two or more substances or of substances and materials (e.g. products for professional use such as hair colourants, cleaners, lacquers and paints);
• substances in articles¹⁸ such as mobile phones and other electronic articles, as well as textiles and clothing, which may be emitted during use or recycling;
• dangerous components extracted or emitted from plants (allergens, fragrances, toxins);
• degradation products such nitrosamines in cutting fluids (metalworking).
The assessment of whether a situation at a workplace is a risk because of exposure to dangerous substances has to be based on knowledge about the properties and the use patterns of the substance; it cannot be done by using our five senses or experience.
Message 2: Dangerous substances - they affect your workplace, too
3.3. Message 3: Managing dangerous substances - as relevant and important as ever
The third message also relates to strategic objective 1 (‘Raising awareness of the importance and relevance of managing dangerous substances’) and addresses another misconception that the use of dangerous substances has decreased.¹⁹ The reason for this is that some well-known chemicals have been banned or their use is now restricted. Examples of such dangerous substances are, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pentachlorophenol (PCP), tributyltin (TBT) and asbestos. Although their names might have disappeared from the wider public discourse, they still pose a serious problem for workers in certain occupations (e.g. asbestos in renovation work). So in fact, there is an incredible variety of dangerous substances and the overall use of dangerous substances has not decreased. According to the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI) more allergens and carcinogens are used per citizen than 20 years ago.²⁰ In 1996, in Sweden, 3 tons of dangerous substances per citizen were used (not counting petrol). In 2011,3.7 tons were used. It should be noted that the KEMI figures cover only manufactured (plus imported, minus exported) chemicals; such registers cannot cover exposures to process-generated substances.
In many sectors, the use of chemicals has grown as chemical-based technologies have replaced traditional ways of working and these substances will have to be managed. For example:
• In agriculture, pesticides in combination with mechanical equipment have largely replaced manual work.
• In almost every sector, plastics have superseded conventional materials such as wood and metal.
• In construction, many tasks, such as insulation and surface protection, are performed using chemical products.
• In other industries, gluing has become a widely accepted technology, increasingly replacing more conventional types of bonding.
Eurostat’s ProdCom database contains some hundred data sets about minerals, heavy metals, chemicals and manufactured chemical products, such as paints and tyres that contain dangerous substances.²¹
Message 3: Managing dangerous substances at work-as relevant and important as ever
3.4. Message 4: Follow the legislation - apply the most effective prevention measures first
This message relates to strategic objective 2 (‘Promoting risk assessment, elimination and substitution and the hierarchy of prevention measures’) and strategic objective 5 (‘Improving awareness of policy developments and the legislative framework’) and explains the hierarchy of control measures, which is the cornerstone of the European OSH risk prevention system.
The European OSH legislation envisages that employers will take the necessary measures to protect their workers from exposure to dangerous substances in a certain order of priority, combatting the risks at their sources and making collective rather than personal measures top priority.
This legally prescribed hierarchy is often referred to as STOP: Substitution, Technological solutions, Organisational solutions and then Personal protection.²² Even more stringent measures, such as the requirement to work in a closed system, exposure recording and stronger information requirements, apply to carcinogens and mutagens at work.
Whilst there are enterprises and social partners that have found good solutions, this is still lacking in other workplaces; an evaluation of the practical application of the Chemical Agents Directive in enterprises has shown that the practice is often exactly the other way around: first personal protection and then the upper measures of the hierarchy.²³
The campaign will encourage and support the sharing of good practice solutions and policies to promote risk assessment and the hierarchy of prevention to eliminate or reduce exposure to dangerous substances as laid down in EU legislation.
Message 4: Follow the legislation - apply the most effective prevention measures first
3.5. Message 5: First try to eliminate the risk - consider practical solutions for substitution
This message relates again to strategic objective 2 (‘Promoting risk assessment, elimination and substitution and the hierarchy of prevention measures’) and aims to promote elimination and substitution.
Elimination and substitution of chemicals are the first step in the hierarchy of prevention measures as explained in message 4 and laid down in workplace legislation. They are therefore at the centre of OSH risk prevention. However, implementation at workplace level is varied and information on practical substitution is dispersed. As a major part of its work on promoting the hierarchy of control measures, EU-OSHA will place particular emphasis on tools and instruments to promote substitution and will present case studies on practical substitution. It will make available tools and information relating to substitution, such as the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) guidance,²⁴ the SUBSPORT²⁵ database, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) toolbox²⁶ on substitution and alternative assessment and the European Commission Department for Employment Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) publications on substitution.²⁷
Finally, it is also planned to update an existing EU-OSHA factsheet on substitution.
Message 5: First try to eliminate the risk- consider practical solutions for substitution
3.6. Message 6: Managing dangerous substances - guidance and support are available
Message six relates to strategic objective 2 (‘Promoting risk assessment, elimination and substitution, and the hierarchy of prevention measures’) and strategic objective 3 (‘Raising awareness of risks linked to exposure to carcinogens at work’).
Many public institutions and authorities, industrial associations and trade unions have produced guidance material to support the relevant stakeholders. For example, more than 10 years ago, DG EMPL published its guidance to support the implementation of the CAD (Directive 98/24)²⁸. In most of these publications, employers are guided to identify, classify and categorise the use of dangerous substances in their enterprises and design adequate prevention measures. These guidance documents mostly contain an introduction or a full overview of the legislation, often complemented by a list of tried-and-tested solutions, good practices and sector-related examples.
EU-OSHA is currently preparing a compilation of relevant material from the EU, its agencies and the Member States, as well as other important stakeholders. The compilation will cover:
• risk assessment support (guidance, checklists and e-tools);
• exposure assessment support (estimation tools, exposure assessments, rough orientating measurements);
• good practice examples and case studies as models for practical solutions.
This mapping of EU and national resources and the resources of other agencies should provide an overview of existing tools and good practice examples to support enterprises in managing dangerous substances that they produce or use. Indeed, a number of policies, tools and instruments have been developed in recent years. The campaign will facilitate access to information relevant for authorities (e.g. labour inspectors when inspecting), enterprises (in particular SMEs that have to deal with the large amount of information on the subject provided to them), and workers’ representatives (how to contribute to consultations about workplace measures). EU-OSHA will also promote the exchange of good practices between tool developers and may work on an online tool to help SMEs manage dangerous substances.
Message 6: Managing dangerous substances - guidance and support are available
3.7. Message 7: Pay particular attention to carcinogens
The third strategic objective has a special focus on carcinogens (‘Raising awareness of risks linked to exposure to carcinogens at work’).
Carcinogens are agents (physical, chemical, biological) that are the cause of the most serious and often fatal occupational diseases. It is estimated that the total number of people in the EU Member States who develop cancer as result of occupational exposure to carcinogens is greater than 120,000 per year; these cases result in almost 80,000 deaths per year.²⁹
There are hundreds of dangerous substances classified as carcinogens to which workers can be exposed.³⁰ In addition, some of the carcinogens identified in workplaces, including those to which workers are most frequently exposed, are generated by work processes themselves and are therefore not covered by the REACH legislation.
Examples include certain components of diesel engine exhaust emissions and of welding fumes, respirable crystalline silica, and wood dust and combustion products. For these very important carcinogens, ways of promoting prevention and raising awareness have to be sought other than those provided by the use of safety data sheets and communication up and down the supply chain through the REACH processes. Recent efforts to reduce tobacco smoke exposure at work are a good example of how joint efforts have reduced exposures considerably.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has associated certain occupational circumstances, such as working as a painter or as a welder, with an increased risk of some cancers. However, not only workers in industry or crafts are at risk. The work of hairdressing and barbering has also been classified by the IARC as probably carcinogenic. Nurses and other health workers who work with chemotherapy drugs to treat cancer patients may be at an increased risk of cancer themselves as a result.
A number of stakeholders have launched campaigns on the prevention of exposure to carcinogens at work.
For example, the Netherlands Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2016 put the prevention of exposure to carcinogens at the top of its OSH priority list. It initiated and signed a covenant on joint cooperation between EU-OSHA, the European social partners, the European Commission and other signatories.
The results of the Roadmap on Carcinogens drawn up by the signatories, in particular the collected tools and good practice examples, will be promoted during the campaign. In addition, the mapping of Member State and EU resources will identify additional tools and good practice examples, which will be shared through the official campaign website (https://www.healthy-workplaces.eu) and a special page on the EU-OSHA corporate website (https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/dangerous-substances/ roadmap-to-carcinogens). Finally, EU-OSHA plans to produce a joint information sheet in collaboration with the covenant signatories.
Message 7: Pay particular attention to carcinogens
3.8. Message 8: Some groups of workers are especially at risk - take their needs into account
This message relates to strategic objective 4 (‘Addressing specific groups of workers’).
The campaign should pay particular attention to a number of specific groups of workers, including women, migrant workers and young workers, as well as workers at increased risk, such as maintenance workers, temporary workers, workers with little training and information (e.g. in service professions) and those working in the informal economy (undeclared work). This increased risk may arise from a greater physiological sensitivity (different responses between men and women, among young workers or among workers with certain diseases). Furthermore, it might arise because these workers are less likely to have received training (temporary workers, unqualified workers, short-term workers and trainees (e.g. students, pupils)) or may have problems in understanding training, guidance and advice (e.g. migrant workers), or because they are less likely to be covered by health surveillance regimes.
EU-OSHA proposes to address the specific issues and needs of these specific groups and workers, for example by focusing on those sectors and occupations most concerned, building on previous work and the experience gained from previous campaigns, such as the young workers and maintenance campaign, and on the findings of the European Risk Observatory. These sectors could include construction, waste management, HORECA, transport, hairdressing, and health and social care. Exposures in these occupations, often female-dominated occupations such as cleaning, vary and are often unpredictable.
This is why it is crucial to avoid assumptions about what these workers are exposed to and to apply the same principles of risk assessment, substitution and elimination, and the hierarchy of prevention measures, as for other workers. The campaign should specifically raise awareness about the risks that female workers are exposed to and the importance of good practice in applying the basic principles of the EU OSH prevention legislation to protect them.
EU-OSHA will therefore collect guidance and other support material that will help in raising awareness of the specific needs of these groups and explaining how to implement measures to protect them.
Message 8: Some groups of workers are especially at risk - take their needs into account
3.9. Message 9: Be aware that there is a legislative framework to protect workers from dangerous substances
This message is related to strategic objective 2 (‘Promoting risk assessment, elimination and substitution and the hierarchy of prevention measures’) and strategic objective 5 (‘Improving awareness of policy developments and the legislative framework’) and aims to promote OSH legislation.
There is a legislative framework in the European Union to protect workers, and it has been in place for many years. A directive setting out the hierarchy of control measure has been in place since 1980 and the basic principles have not changed. There are a number of other pieces of legislation that may contribute further to better prevention, for example, the REACH and CLP legislation. However, while the chemicals legislation is important and may provide information that is vital to sound management of dangerous substances in workplaces, it is complementary to workplace legislation.
The introduction of an OSH framework³¹ and the CAD³² and the CMD Directives³³ setting out OSH rules and their national transposition aimed to reduce the exposure to dangerous substances in workplaces. Legislation (the Water Framework Directive, ROHS,³⁴ WEEE,³⁵ etc.) in other policy areas may also reduce exposure to dangerous substances in certain sectors or products; REACH aims to do the same in all sectors.
The European Commission and Member States have been addressing the potential synergies between different legislative areas such as REACH, CLP and OSH legislation. The synergies between some legislative areas, such as REACH and OSH, have also been explored by some Member States, as, according to a focal point survey conducted by EU-OSHA, in most countries they are managed in
cooperation or by a single administration. Safety data sheets are one of the most important information sources for manufactured chemicals and should provide employers with the information they need to carry out risk assessments and adopt appropriate measures. However, this information often needs to be translated to workplace actors. Following the mapping of resources from the EU and Member States and the update of EU-OSHA’s resources, there will be a multiplicity of information materials available that will explain the legislative requirements and how to put them into practice.
EU-OSHA will be promoting successful communication initiatives on the interface between OSH and other legislation such as REACH, including national guidance, building on existing cooperation between the actors at EU and national levels (e.g. ‘train the trainer’ schemes, guidance for labour inspectors and joint actions between, for example, REACH and OSH actors at the national level).
The campaign will promote existing European Commission, Member State and SLIC guidance and provide information on the relevance of the different legislative areas for workplaces. For example, it will raise awareness of:
• integrated guidance and tools that support OSH risk assessment and management, as well as substitution, and that aim to improve access to information about dangerous substances.
• new information in safety data sheets (chemical safety reports, exposure scenarios, intended uses, DNELs);
• developments as regards classification and labelling;
Changes in OSH and chemicals legislation are also in the pipeline, following recent proposals to amend the Carcinogens Directive and the evaluation of the OSH acquis; the current REACH review, due in 2017, is being carried out in parallel with the fitness check on the most relevant chemicals legislation other than REACH. Throughout the campaign, these changes will have to be taken into account.
Another important aspect is communication up and down the supply chain. A number of sectoral organisations have mapped the uses of their products and related exposures; examples should be explored to promote good practice and feed into social dialogue and cooperation at sectoral level. This could also help to provide good practice information on the implementation of methods for controlling risk and support SMEs in the implementation of legal requirements.
EU-OSHA will also bring together tool developers to give them and others who would like to develop their own tools or adapt existing instruments the opportunity to exchange experiences. This will include those who have developed tools integrating information from different relevant legislative areas for OSH purposes.
EU-OSHA will also be liaising with other agencies, such as ECHA, ECDC and the EEA, to promote their guidance documents relevant to the campaign and to agree on joint cooperation during the campaign.
Message 9: Be aware that there is a legislative framework to protect workers from dangerous substances
4. Selected tools and strategies
EU-OSHA has developed a variety of tools and strategies to promote its Healthy Workplaces Campaigns and support its network of partners.
These tools and strategies attempt to reflect the concerns and needs of all partners and include the following:
■ support for networks of partners;
■ campaign promotion and information products;
■ campaign online tools;
■ campaign events and activities;
■ campaign media and PR activities.
4.1. Support for networks of partners
EU-OSHA provides special support to its network of national focal points and its official campaign partners through the following mechanisms:
• European Campaign Assistance Package (ECAP): the Agency provides its network of national focal points with logistical support for implementing campaign activities at the national level. ECAP support covers a wide range of activities, including the organisation of conferences and seminars, press conferences, journalist round tables and visits, and radio phone-ins, as well as the production and distribution of campaign print and promotion material in 25 languages. The ECAP offer will be described in more detail in the new ECAP Guidelines.
• Campaign partnership offer: pan-European or international organisations willing to get substantially involved in the Healthy Workplaces Campaign and able to multiply their efforts through their network members can apply to become official campaign partners. Becoming an official partner entails certain responsibilities, but also brings with it a number of benefits, including participation in the new official campaign partner good practice exchange initiative. The partnership offer will be described in more detail in the HWC 2018-19 campaign partnership offer.
• Media partnership offer: this network of partners, created in 2012, works with EU-OSHA to raise awareness about the campaign topics, using their various channels to advertise and promote the campaign. It is an exclusive pool of journalists and editors from all over Europe interested in promoting OSH. The partnership provides each partner with an opportunity to raise their outlet’s profile within the extensive OSH community and to reach EU-OSHA’s networks and stakeholders in Europe and beyond.
4.2. Campaign promotion and information products
EU-OSHA will produce a wide range of promotional and information products to publicise the campaign effectively, including the following:
• Campaign information products: to support the main messages of the campaign, a series of new products are being developed to provide the actors concerned with practical OSH information and tools for managing dangerous substances.
• Campaign promotional products: this material is aimed at raising awareness about the campaign in a lively and engaging manner, and it includes the campaign guide, campaign posters, PowerPoint presentations, internet banners and signatures, a series of short video clips featuring the popular cartoon character Napo, etc.
4.3. Campaign online tools
• Campaign website: this will be the main communication channel and promotional tool throughout the campaign (http://www.healthy-workplaces.eu). It will be available in 25 languages and special efforts will be made to keep the website lively and up to date. It will bring together all the information on the campaign, giving access to important facts and figures, practical tools and instruments, and good practice examples. It will also be used to announce the highlights of the campaign and to engage EU-OSHA’s national focal points and its official campaign partners.
• Corporate website: in addition to the campaign website, the dedicated thematic section of the corporate website will be updated.
4.4. Campaign events and activities
EU-OSHA organises and supports a variety of events and activities taking place during the Healthy Workplaces Campaigns. A provisional timetable for the campaign’s key events is contained in Annex 1.
• Campaign launch: for the official launch of the campaign a high-level press conference with the participation of the responsible commissioner, a representative of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU and EU-OSHA’s Director is planned in the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. In parallel, national launch press conferences will be organised by EU-OSHA’s national focal points all over Europe.
• National campaign network meetings and other campaign events: during the two years of the campaign, EU-OSHA’s national focal points and official campaign partners organise a variety of events to promote the campaign and to further discussions on the campaign topics.
• Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Awards: this competition recognises those organisations that have found innovative ways of making good safety and health practices a routine part of their workplace management. To give the maximum of publicity to the selected examples, EU- OSHA organises an awards ceremony and produces a special booklet presenting the award winners.
• European Week for Safety and Health at Work: many of the campaign’s events and activities are focused on this week, which takes place all over Europe every year in October (calendar week 43). The European Week, which has been running since 2000, consists of an annual series of conferences, seminars, training sessions, exhibitions and other activities to promote improved safety and health in the workplace.
• Healthy Workplaces Summit: at the end of each campaign, EU-OSHA brings together all those who have contributed to making it a success. This is a moment to thank all partners for their support and to take stock of the campaign’s achievements and lessons learned in order to make the results of the campaign sustainable over time.
4.5. Campaign media and PR activities
• Media actions: to publicise the abovementioned campaign events and activities, EU-OSHA will implement a wide range of media and PR activities, including organising press conferences, journalist round tables and visits; issuing of press releases; arranging radio phone-ins; and commission professional articles.
• Newsletter: a bi-monthly newsletter will inform all interested parties about new developments on the campaign topic and about the latest highlights of the campaign, including the activities of EU-OSHA’s focal points and official campaign partners.
• Social media: a special push will also be given to social media activities relating to the campaign, on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
• Exhibitions: when possible, EU-OSHA will be participating in international fairs and conferences to promote the campaign. Preference will be given to events organised by EU- OSHA’s network of partners.
4.6. Campaign resources
Most of the campaign-related resources will be produced in 25 languages and will be available from the dedicated campaign website at http://www.healthy-workplaces.eu. They will include the following:
■ logo, slogan, posters;
■ campaign guide and campaign information leaflet;
■ Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Awards information flyer and a booklet presenting the winners;
■ PowerPoint presentation, email signature;
■ campaign promotional video;
■ Napo DVDs and other audio-visual material.
The campaign resources will also include the following materials, which will be adapted following the mapping, gap analysis and assessment of update needs of existing EU-OSHA resources, keeping in mind the campaign’s five strategic objectives:
■ updated EU-OSHA material related to exposure to dangerous substances (reports, factsheets, etc.);
■ campaign info sheets and infographics on selected topics;
■ a database of existing case studies, instruments and tools, audio-visual materials and other good practice materials at European and national levels, to be integrated into the campaign website;
■ an updated EU-OSHA campaign toolkit, including best practices for specific promotion and awareness-raising actions related to dangerous substances at European and national levels;
■ an interactive e-tool on dangerous substance management for MSEs
■ an updated OSHwiki section on dangerous substances and new OSHwiki articles, with a special focus on tools and instruments;
■ joint articles or info sheets produced with other agencies (e.g. EIGE) and with the signatories to the covenant committing to the Roadmap on Carcinogens;
■ online summaries of an e-tools seminar on dangerous substances and of the events taking place under the Roadmap on Carcinogens;
■ a joint report entitled Dangerous substances in the workplace - Current knowledge, in collaboration with other EU agencies (to be confirmed in 2017).
ANNEX 1
Timetable and milestones
2017
Sept E-tools seminar focused on dangerous substances
Q4 Launch of HWC 2018-19 ECAP for EU-OSHA’s network of national focal points
Nov Launch of HWC 2018-19 splash page
2018
Q1 Launch of campaign website, including private area for partners Q 1 Distribution of core campaign material to network of national focal points (FOPs)
Q1 Internal campaign kick-off meeting with FOPs
Q1 EU campaign partnership meeting and presentation of campaign partnership offer (recruitment of official campaign partners)
Q1 Launch of HWC 2018-19 website back-office functionalities (including partner profiles, partner resources)
April Official campaign launch with relevant commissioner and the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU (in parallel with national launches organised by FOPs)
April Launch of Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Awards at European and national levels
April Launch of official HWC 2018-19 website
Q2/4 Campaign promotion, including distribution of campaign products
Q3/4 National campaign network meetings and other activities organised by FOPs (with and without ECAP support) and campaign partners
CW 43 European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2018
Q4 Planning of regional, local and sector-focused activities
2019
Q1 Judging of the Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Awards Q1 Official campaign partners good practice exchange event
April Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Awards ceremony with the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU
Q2/3 Campaign promotion, including distribution of campaign content products and other campaign material
CW 43 European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2019
Nov Healthy Workplaces Summit (closing event) with the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU
2020
Q1 Reporting and evaluation
__________
1 EU-OSHA has commissioned a study entitled Current knowledge on exposure to dangerous substances in workplaces in Europe - Literature review and statistical picture. The results will be available in early autumn 2017.
2 Of EU enterprises, 38 % report dangerous substances as being present at their workplaces; see European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER) - Managing safety and health at work, EU-OSHA, 2015, p. 1. Available at: http://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/reports/esener1_osh_management/view.
3 Commission Recommendation 2003/670/EC of 19 September 2003 concerning the European schedule of occupational diseases.
4 EU Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Strategic Framework 2014-2020; see http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=151.
5 Cases of cancer 120,000 per annum, annual fatalities 80,000; see https://roadmaponcarcinogens.eu/about/the-facts/
6 Jongeneel, W.P., Eysink, P.E.D., Theodori, D., Hamberg-van Reenen, H.H., Verhoeven, J.K..,Work-related cancer in the European Union. Size, impact and options for further prevention, RIVM Letter report 2016-0010.
7 Nenonen N., Hämäläinen P., Takala J., Saarela K.L., Lim S.L., Lim G.K., Manickam K. and Yong E. (2014) Global estimates of occupational accidents and fatal work-related diseases in 2014, Singapore, Workplace Safety & Health Institute. http://goo.gl/UlZorD and http://goo.gl/tN7XDn
8 SLIC, Final report on the SLIC inspection campaign Risk Assessment in the Use of Dangerous Substances, 2010-2011.
9 http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02006R1907-20140410
10 United Nations: Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), New York and Geneva, 2011; see https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/danger/publi/ghs/ghs_rev04/English/ST-SG-AC10-30-Rev4e.pdf
11 http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm
12 https://roadmaponcarcinogens.eu/; https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/dangerous-substances/roadmap-to-carcinogens
13 HWC 2018-19 concept paper, adopted by the EU-OSHA Governing Board by written procedure in August 2016
14 The campaign title will be adapted in the national languages
15 Currently the Chemical Abstracts Service Registry identifies more than 102 million organic and inorganic substances and 66 million protein and DNA sequences plus additional information about each substance. The Registry is updated with an approximate 15,000 additional new substances daily.
16 Substitution, Technological solutions, Organisational solutions and then Personal protection.
17 Kim,Y., Park , J., Park, M.,Creating a Culture of Prevention in Occupational Safety and Health Practice, Safety and Health at Work (SH@W) 7(2016), pp. 89–96. Open Access DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2016.02.002.
18 The REACH definition: ‘article: means an object which during production is given a special shape, surface or design which determines its function to a greater degree than does its chemical composition’.
19 EU-OSHA has commissioned a study entitled Current knowledge on exposure to dangerous substances in workplaces in Europe - literature review and statistical picture. The results will be available in early autumn 2017.
20 This is of course also because more substances are regarded as dangerous than in the past, e.g. the very widespread formaldehyde is considered carcinogenic.
21 Chemical production: ProdCom database from Eurostat; http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/prodcom/data/excel-files-nace-rev.2
22 See Article 6 of Council Directive 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998 on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work; http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31998L0024
23 Kooperationsstelle Hamburg IFE: Contract to analyse and evaluate the impact of the practical implementation in the workplace of national measures implementing Directive 98/24/EC on Chemical Agents, August 2010; see ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=10152&langId=en
24 ‘A guide to substitution: An information note from the UK chemicals stakeholder forum’, DEFRA, 2010. Available at:. http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/chemicals/csf/index.htm
26 http://www.oecdsaatoolbox.org
27 Minimising chemical risk to workers’ health and safety through substitution, European Commission, DG EMPL, 2011
28 Practical guidelines of a non-binding nature on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work: Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6, and Annex II, section 1 of Directive 98/24/EC, European Commission, DG EMPL, Luxembourg, 2005 (in all Member State languages as at 2005).
29 https://roadmaponcarcinogens.eu/about/the-facts/
30 The EU legislation covers more than 270 carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (CMR) substances in category 1 (A&B) and more than 150 in category 2, while the IARC classifies more than 460 agents (not only chemicals) in categories 1 and 2 (A&B).
31 Council Directive 80/1107/EEC of 27 November 1980 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents at work and its daughter directives.
32 Directive 98/24/EC - risks related to chemical agents at work.
33 Directive 2004/37/EC - risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work.
34 Directive 2002/95/EC - restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.
35 Directive 2002/96/EC - on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).