Directive (EU) 2017/2398 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 amending Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work (Text with EEA relevance)

Evaluation

Article 1

Directive 2004/37/EC is amended as follows: (1) in Article 6, the following paragraph is added: ‘The Member States shall take into account the information under points (a) to (g) of the first paragraph of this Article in their reports submitted to the Commission under Article 17a of Directive 89/391/EEC.’; (2) Article 14 is amended as follows: (a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1.   The Member States shall establish, in accordance with national law or practice, arrangements for carrying out relevant health surveillance of workers for whom the results of the assessment referred to in Article 3(2) reveal a risk to health or safety. The doctor or authority responsible for the health surveillance of workers may indicate that health surveillance must continue after the end of exposure for as long as they consider it to be necessary to safeguard the health of the worker concerned.’; (b) paragraph 8 is replaced by the following: ‘8.   All cases of cancer identified in accordance with national law or practice as resulting from occupational exposure to a carcinogen or mutagen shall be notified to the competent authority. The Member States shall take into account the information under this paragraph in their reports submitted to the Commission under Article 17a of Directive 89/391/EEC.’; (3) the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 18a Evaluation The Commission shall, as part of the next evaluation of the implementation of this Directive in the context of the evaluation referred to in Article 17a of Directive 89/391/EEC, also evaluate the need to modify the limit value for respirable crystalline silica dust. The Commission shall propose, where appropriate, necessary amendments and modifications related to that substance. No later than in the first quarter of 2019, the Commission shall, taking into account the latest developments in scientific knowledge, assess the option of amending the scope of this Directive to include reprotoxic substances. On that basis, the Commission shall present, if appropriate, and after consulting management and labour, a legislative proposal.’; (4) in Annex I, the following point is added: ‘6. Work involving exposure to respirable crystalline silica dust generated by a work process’; (5) Annex III is replaced by the text in the Annex to this Directive.

Article 2

1.   Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 17 January 2020. They shall immediately inform the Commission of the text of those measures. When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States. 2.   Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the measures of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

ANNEXSupplementary provisions

ANNEX ‘ANNEX III Limit values and other directly related provisions (Article 16) A.   LIMIT VALUES FOR OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE Name of agent EC No  ( 1 ) CAS No  ( 2 ) Limit values  ( 3 ) Notation Transitional measures mg/m 3  ( 4 ) ppm  ( 5 ) f/ml  ( 6 ) Hardwood dusts — — 2  ( 7 ) — — — Limit value 3 mg/m 3 until 17 January 2023 Chromium (VI) compounds which are carcinogens within the meaning of point (i) of Article 2(a) (as chromium) — — 0,005 — — — Limit value 0,010 mg/m 3 until 17 January 2025 Limit value: 0,025 mg/m 3 for welding or plasma cutting processes or similar work processes that generate fume until 17 January 2025 Refractory ceramic fibres which are carcinogens within the meaning of point (i) of Article 2(a) — — — — 0,3 —   Respirable crystalline silica dust — — 0,1  ( 8 ) — — —   Benzene 200-753-7 71-43-2 3,25 1 — skin  ( 9 )   Vinyl chloride monomer 200-831-0 75-01-4 2,6 1 — —   Ethylene oxide 200-849-9 75-21-8 1,8 1 — skin  ( 9 )   1,2-Epoxypropane 200-879-2 75-56-9 2,4 1 — —   Acrylamide 201-173-7 79-06-1 0,1 — — skin  ( 9 )   2-Nitropropane 201-209-1 79-46-9 18 5 — —   o-Toluidine 202-429-0 95-53-4 0,5 0,1 — skin  ( 9 )   1,3-Butadiene 203-450-8 106-99-0 2,2 1 — —   Hydrazine 206-114-9 302-01-2 0,013 0,01 — skin  ( 9 )   Bromoethylene 209-800-6 593-60-2 4,4 1 — —   B.   OTHER DIRECTLY RELATED PROVISIONS p.m.’ ( 1 )   EC No, i.e. Einecs, ELINCS or NLP, is the official number of the substance within the European Union, as defined in Section 1.1.1.2 in Annex VI, Part 1, to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. ( 2 )   CAS No: Chemical Abstract Service Registry Number. ( 3 )   Measured or calculated in relation to a reference period of eight hours. ( 4 )   mg/m 3 = milligrams per cubic metre of air at 20 °C and 101,3 kPa (760 mm mercury pressure). ( 5 )   ppm = parts per million by volume in air (ml/m 3 ). ( 6 )   f/ml = fibres per millilitre. ( 7 )   Inhalable fraction: if hardwood dusts are mixed with other wood dusts, the limit value shall apply to all wood dusts present in that mixture. ( 8 )   Respirable fraction. ( 9 )   Substantial contribution to the total body burden via dermal exposure possible.