PURPOSE: amendment of Directive 90/394/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens at work and extending it to mutagens - addition of wood dusts to the list of agents .
COMMUNITY MEASURE: Council Directive 1999/38/EC amending for the second time Directive 90/394/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens at work and extending it to mutagens.
CONTENT: The modifications relate to three specific points:
- addition to the list of carcinogencic substances covered by Directive 30/394/EEC all types of wood dust (and not just beech and oak) by setting a limit value of exposure at 5.0mg per cubic metre of air at 20°C. It is specified that if the wood dusts concerned are mixed with other wood dusts that this limit value has to apply to all the wood dusts present in the mixture;
This standard may be reviewed by the Commission on the basis of the latest available scientific data within two years of the adoption of this Directive;
- the consolidation in Directive 90/394/EEC of Directives in force concerning carcinogenic substances in the workplace, in particular as regards vinyl chloride monomer by adding stricter limit values for exposure to this agent. These values may also be reviewed two years following the adoption of this Directive on the basis of the latest available scientific data.
- thirdly, provision for appropriate standards of protection against the risks relating to mutagenic substances which are not yet covered by Directive 90/394/EEC but are likely to have carcinogenic effects (such as the substances in categories 1 and 2 of Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC).
Furthermore, it is planned that the Commission should submit proposals regarding the carcinogencity of other wood dusts, if studies identify associated risks.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 01.06.1999.
DATE OF TRANSPOSITION IN THE MEMBER STATES: 29.04.2003.
It should be noted that Directive 78/610/EEC relating to exposure to vinyl chloride monomer is repealed from the same date.�