The European Parliament has approved tougher workplace safety rules targeting exposure to dangerous chemicals, with new limits expected to prevent thousands of cases of occupational disease over the next four decades.

 

The revised legislation introduces stricter exposure limits for chemicals used in battery manufacturing, steel and aluminium production, and the chemical and textile industries. It also strengthens protections for workers who cannot avoid exposure to hazardous substances, including firefighters, emergency responders and healthcare personnel handling dangerous medicines.

 

The measures were approved on Tuesday by 499 votes in favour, 49 against and 104 abstentions, marking the sixth revision of the EU’s Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic Substances Directive (CMRD).

 

According to the European Commission, the updated rules could prevent around 1,700 cases of lung cancer and 19,000 other illnesses over the next 40 years.

 

The revised directive introduces new occupational exposure limits for cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds, widely used in battery production; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, associated with steel, iron and aluminium manufacturing; and 1,4-dioxane, used in chemical and textile production.

 

It also establishes a long-term occupational exposure limit for isoprene, a substance used in the chemical and rubber industries that meets the criteria for classification as a carcinogen.

 

The European Commission will also have to assess whether additional exposure limits are needed for substances found in welding fumes.

 

The legislation tightens safeguards for workers whose exposure to dangerous chemicals cannot be reduced below the prescribed limits.

 

Employers will have to follow clearer requirements on personal protective equipment, including respiratory protection. Workers will also be entitled to regular breaks in areas free from contamination risks.

 

Firefighters and other emergency services personnel will receive additional protection measures because of the range of hazardous materials they may encounter while carrying out their duties.

 

The directive also emphasises proper training for workers who are, or may be, exposed to carcinogens, mutagens and substances toxic to reproduction. The requirements cover hazardous medicinal products that can harm healthcare workers if they are not handled or used correctly.

 

Liesbet Sommen (EPP, Belgium), the Parliament’s rapporteur on the legislation, highlighted the scale of occupational cancer in the EU and called for stronger workplace protections.

 

“Every year, around 120,000 workers in the EU are diagnosed with occupational cancer linked to exposure to carcinogens at work. This is a preventable tragedy that we cannot accept. By introducing stricter exposure limits, these new rules will better protect workers' health, reduce risks in the workplace and strengthen decent working conditions across the European Union, while giving companies the necessary legal certainty and time to comply with the new standards.”