Limiting the exposure of workers to cancer-causing chemicals is crucial
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Today, the European Commission has put forward a law protecting workers from being exposed to cancer-inducing chemicals in the workplace. The EPP Group Coordinator of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, David Casa MEP, welcomed this legislative proposal. It will now have to go through the legislative process of the European Parliament and of the EU governments in the EU Council of Ministers.
"With cancer being the first cause of work-related deaths in the EU, there is no option but to legislate further to bring these numbers down. 53 percent of work-related deaths are due to cancer and therefore the single biggest health risk to workers in the European Union. I support Commissioner Thyssen's initiative. We will now make sure that this proposal becomes law in the shortest time frame possible," said David Casa.
The European Commission wants to limit exposure to 13 cancer-inducing chemicals in the workplace. It is doing so by including new or amended limit values in the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (EU Law). These limit values set a maximum concentration for the presence of a chemical carcinogen in air circulating the workplace. The European Commission proposal is based on scientific evidence and follows broad discussions with scientists, employers, workers, Member States' representatives and labour inspectors.