Revision of EU Carcinogens Directive must consider health & safety for firefighters

The EU institutions are currently considering a revision of the EU Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work, by adding new substances and exposure limit values to the current directive.

CESI welcomes the proposal of the European Commission to add a binding EU occupational exposure limit value for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) mixtures, a necessary step that can significantly improve prevention for workers who are frequently exposed to PAHs, including firefighters that are at frequent risks of exposure during operations.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: "For firefighters, the value of the proposal is not only the numerical limit: It also strengthens prevention duties under the directive by anchoring clearer expectations for employers on risk assessment, exposure measurement strategies, substitution/controls where feasible, hygiene and decontamination measures, personal protective equipment measures and occupational health surveillance – especially because PAHs exposure often occurs in peaks and in complex mixtures during fire events and post-fire clean-ups."

CESI welcomes that the European Parliament’s draft report does not seek to weaken the PAHs limit value set out in the European Commission’s proposal, but instead aims to further strengthen its worker-protection and implementation dimension, including in ways that are particularly relevant for firefighters. CESI counts on MEPs to adopt a committee report and trilogue mandate that will: 

• ensure that employers of firefighters, including volunteer firefighters, will need to assess risks under the directive of exposure to carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxic substances and take the necessary measures to protect the health and safety of those workers.
• seek to improve data collection about work-related health problems due to exposure of agents falling under the proposal, including PAHs. This is a necessary precondition tobetter detect and recognise occupational cancers.
• strengthen expectations on training when workers are exposed or likely to be exposed tocarcinogens, mutagens or reprotoxic substances, or when risks change.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger added: "As MEPs enter the amendment phase in their deliberations, we expect that a strong stance will be taken to further specify necessary and concrete health and safety implementation measures to better protect firefighters and emergency services personnel,as proposed in amendment 14 of the European Parliament's draft report, which clearly states that firefighters and emergency services personnel are particularly at risk of exposure to reprotoxic substances, mutagens and carcinogens such as PAHs."