Liberals and Democrats secure better protections for European workers exposed to dangerous substances

European workers will benefit from enhanced health and safety, as the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs today voted to approve the interinstitutional agreement on improved labour protection against exposure to dangerous chemicals. The agreement is the sixth revision of the EU’s carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxic substances directive (CMRD). It introduces new occupational exposure limit values (OELs) for a number of dangerous substances, as well as clarifying rules on personal protective equipment (PPE) and introducing regular obligatory breaks for workers wearing it.

Renew Europe is particularly proud to have ensured that the directive includes clear recognition that emergency services personnel and firefighters are inherently at risk of exposure to carcinogens, mutagens, and reprotoxic substances in the course of their duties, as well as on securing explicit protections for them against Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). In addition, it was Renew’s lead negotiator Grégory Allione (Renaissance/France), a former firefighter himself, who ensured that the directive also includes occupational diseases and the explicit acknowledgement that reducing exposure reduces the risk of occupational diseases for emergency personnel.

Mr Allione says:

"Every year, tens of thousands of European workers develop cancer because of their exposure to dangerous substances at work. This compromise addresses that directly. I am particularly pleased that this text finally recognises that our firefighters and emergency workers are also exposed to these cancer causing substances as part of their job, an issue that carries particular weight after the summer we have just been through. These advances will help prevent tens of thousands of cancers and occupational illnesses in the decades ahead. This is a concrete victory for the health of those who put themselves at risk every day."