Brussels, May 13, 2016 – The EU Commission today presented its proposals to better protect workers from carcinogenic substances. Presented by EU Commissioner Marianne Thyssen, the revision aims to facilitate the implementation of the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive by introducing Europe-wide binding exposure limit values for a number of agents.

Said Marco Mensink, Director General, Cefic, “For the EU chemicals industry, the protection of workers and enhancing health and safety in the workplace is a key priority. The chemicals industry supports the deployment of Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) across the EU also through voluntary programmes. Having EU-wide binding exposure limits is seen as of added value to this”. Marianne Thyssen emphasised at her press conference that this proposal will bring benefits for workers and business, a statement Cefic fully supports, as it will contribute towards harmonising worker protection across the 28 EU member states.

Background

In 2004 the EU adopted the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (CMD) to ensure workers are protected against the exposure to substances at work that could cause cancer.

Contact: Dervla Gleeson, Media Relations Manager, Cefic (dgl@cefic.be)

About Cefic: Cefic – the EU chemical industry council – is the voice of over 29,000 chemical companies in Europe. We represent over 1.2 million jobs in Europe. www.cefic.org