OSH Chemical industry conference China 2009

1. 1
China International Symposium
on Work Safety and Sustainable
Development of Chemical
Industry , Shenzhen Oct. 2009
A. Cerdá Micó
Holistic Public Role on Occupational
Safety and Health at Chemical
Industry. EU Models
Alberto Cerdá Micó
Labour and Social Security Inspector (Spain)
Expert on Social and Economic Cohesion

2. 2
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development. A. Cerdá
OSH Chemical Industry & Public
Authorities role EU Models
• Dangerous substances found in many workplaces
(farms to hospitals)
• 22% EU workers exposed to toxic vapours for a
quarter of their working time
• 16% handle dangerous substances as part of daily
work. Effects ranging from skin irritations to
chronic lung disorders & cancer
• OSH: is not only a matter of laws & regulations.
Need combine compulsary enforcement with other
instruments:
- - social dialogue; - good practices; - awareness
raising; - corporate social responsibility
- economic incentives and public support

3. 3
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
OSH Chemical Industry & Public
Authorities role EU Models
• EU countries´s governments implement a wide range
of public sector roles to encourage implementation of
OSH:
- Mandating: Set standards through laws and
regulations
- Facilitating: Non-binding guidance and support, like
production of guidelines and training on OSH
- Partnering: Stakeholder engagement and social
dialogue
- Endorsing: Highlighting best OSH practices and
OSH awards

4. 4
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
EU OSH Legal and Institutional
Model
• European OSH Strategy run from 2007-2012 with an
objective to reduce 25% of occupational accidents.
• Set out actions in the following main areas:
1. improving and simplifying existing legislation
through non-binding instruments:
- technical guidelines
- dissemination
- training
- information etc
2. defining and implementing national strategies
adjusted to the specific context of each Member
State

5. 5
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
EU OSH Legal and Institutional Model
3. linking health and safety within other policy
areas:
- education (progresive introduction of OSH culture at
schools and universities)
- public health (links with heath authorities and
programs)
- research
4. better identifying and assessing potential new
risks through more research, exchange of
knowledge and practical application of results.

6. 6
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
EU OSH Legal and Institutional Model
I DISSEMINATION AND TRAINING
The European Agency for Safety and Health (EU
-OSHA), placed in Bilbao, is the central provider
of OSH information:
relevant to every user, regardless of size of
enterprise or sector of activity

7. 7
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
I DISSEMINATION AND TRAINING
• analyse new scientific research and statistics on
workplace risks
• anticipate new and emerging risks through
European Risk Obserbatory
• identify and share information & good practices
with a wide audience
• Main awareness-raising activity is the Healthy
Workplaces campaign: different theme every 2
years
• Identifies OSH information & make accessible to
safety representatives, managers, employers and
workers, trade unions and policy-makers.

8. 8
Symposium on Work Safety
and Sustainable Development
of Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
I DISSEMINATION AND TRAINING
Agency has run an annual European Campaign
since 2000: more than 30 countries participating &
4 million information materials distributed in all
official community languages
Campaign 2008-2009:
Others:

9. 9
Symposium on Work Safety
and Sustainable Development
of Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
I DISSEMINATION AND TRAINING
Aim of 08-09 campaign: promote an integrated
management approach that takes into account
the different steps of risk assessment.
Duration: two-year to underline that risk
assessment is a
systematic examination of all aspects of the
work
undertaken to consider:
- - what can cause injury or harm,
- - whether the hazards can be eliminated
and,
- if not, what preventive or protective
measures are, or should be, in place to

10. 10
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
I DISSEMINATION AND TRAINING
- Where: 2003 Campaign: run in all 15 EU Member
States, the candidate countries, and beyond
- When: Week campaign October 2003, each country
deciding which week is designated. However, the
campaign run throughout 2003
- WHY does Europe need to tackle the problem of
dangerous substances at work?: harm people’s health
& loss of productivity
- WHAT can be done?

11. 11
China International Symposium
on Work Safety and Sustainable
Development of Chemical
Industry . A. Cerdá
I DISSEMINATION AND TRAINING
OSH GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS
Employers have to ensure that workers are informed -
trained on hazardous properties of the agents
manipulated & appropriate precautions
To facilitate the understanding of regulations &
standards in practical terms on how the OSH legal
requirements apply at enterprise level for each
work place
Guidelines are prepared, published and disseminated
by EU and member states & OSH Focal points,
mostly free of charge.

12. 12
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
I DISSEMINATION AND TRAINING
Typical OSH GUIDELINE on the production o use of
harmful chemical substances will include:
- What is a Chemical Hazard and what is Risk
Assessment
- What it is not harmful
- Scope and Application (economic sectors and
work places included in the guideline)
- Assessment Strategy
- The Substances: Physical and chemical properties
- Harmful and adverse health effects
- Description of Activities with chemical products
- Risk Assessment (including description of
methodologies and technical processes

13. 13
I DISSEMINATION AND TRAINING
Criteria for determining excessive personal exposure
Exposures judged excessive by severity of effect
Criteria for excessive risk of fire or explosion
Unstable substances. Incompatible substances
Frequency or duration of unsafe condition
People who may be at risk from the work activity
Conclusions about risk. Preventive measures
Monitoring
Personal Exposure. Health tests
OSH organizations within the company providing
OSH health
control and follow up
Emergency Measures
Review of the Assessment

14. 14
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
I DISSEMINATION AND TRAINING
Other tools for OSH promotion:
- EU best practices on chemical risks
- Publications
- Reports
-  Literature Reviews
- OSH-Mail
- Evaluation Reports on OSH performance
- Linking with other relevant organizations and
strategies. OSH Focal Points
- Training: very often free of charge or with public
support

15. 15
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
EU OSH Legal and Institutional Model
II MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS
a) The OSH Framework Directive, 89/391/EEC, applies
to all risks
• The Directive set up as main obligation for the
employers:
- Determine whether any hazardous chemical agents
are present in the workplace
- Assess any risk to the S&H of workers arising from
their use
- Ensure that the risk is eliminated or reduced to a
minimum

16. 16
Symposium on Work Safety
and Sustainable Development
of Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
There are 5 OSH downstream directives related to
dangerous substances:
– Chemical Agents Directive 98/24/EC
– Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive 2004/37/EC
– Safety Signs Directive 92/58/EEC
– Pregnant Workers Directive 92/85/EEC
– Young People at Work Directive 94/33/EEC
II MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS

17. 17
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
II MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS
b) Labour Inspectorate & OSH Preventive Services
• Labour inspectorates play a central role in
promoting safety and health at work
• First hand information from labour inspectorates
has to be taken into consideration by public
authorities
• Labour inspectorates are complemented in EU
countries by the role played by OSH Preventive
services
• Framework Directive 1989: companies will set up
protective and preventive services

18. 18
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
II MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS
b) Labour Inspectorate & OSH Preventive Services
• the external services and/or designated persons
and workers must have the necessary aptitudes,
personal and professional means
• the designated workers and/or the external
services must be sufficient in number to deal with
the organization of protective and preventive
measures taking into account all work places and
risks derivated witht the existance of dangerous
substances.

19. 19
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
II MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS
c) Health Surveillance
• Needed when there are hazardous substances at work
place
• The public authorities have to monitor that companies
comply with the following principles:
- For each worker individual health and exposure records
are made and kept up-to-date
- Health and exposure records shall contain a summary of
the results
-The individual worker should have access to the health
and exposure records relating to him

20. 20
II MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS
c) Health Surveillance
• As a result of health surveillance if a worker is found
to have an identifiable disease effect considered by a
doctor the employer should:
- review the risk assessment
- review the measures provided to eliminate or reduce
risks,
- take into account the advice of the the competent
authority in implementing any measures required to
eliminate or reduce risk
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá

21. 21
II MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS
d) Principles for Control of Exposure to
Substances Hazardous to Health
Exposure to hazardous substances must be prevented or
controlled by:
1 the design and use of appropriate work processes,
systems, engineering controls
2. use of suitable work equipment and materials
3. control of exposure at source
4. as a last resort where adequate control cannot be
achieved by other means, in addition to the above, use
personal protective equipment
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá

22. 22
II MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF
REGULATIONS
d) Principles for Control of Exposure to
Substances Hazardous to Health
• The measures referred to above include:
- safe handling, storage and transport
-suitable maintenance procedures
-reducing to the minimum number of employees
exposed
-restricting level and duration of exposure, and
quantity of substances
-appropriate hygiene measures
Symposium on Work Safety
and Sustainable Development
of Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá

23. 23
II MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS
d) Principles for Control of Exposure to
Substances Hazardous to Health
• risk must be either eliminated or reduced SFARP
• preference should be given to risk reduction by
substitution
• Otherwise:
-use controls including, in order of priority:
1. the reduction of quantities to a minimum
2. avoidance or minimizing of release
3. control of the release at source
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá

24. 24
4. prevention of the formation of an explosive
atmosphere,
5. avoidance of
(i) ignition sources
(ii) adverse conditions
6. segregation of incompatible dangerous
substances
7. mitigate effects of fire/explosion or dangerous
substances
Symposium on Work Safety and
Sustainable Development of
Chemical Industry . A. Cerdá
II MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS
d) Principles for Control of Exposure to
Substances Hazardous to Health

25. 25
Holistic Public Role on Occupational
Safety and Health at Chemical
Industry. EU Models.
Thank you for your attention
Alberto Cerdá Micó
Contact: acm.frame@gmail.com
www.frameeurope.es
China International Symposium
on Work Safety and Sustainable
Development of Chemical
Industry . Shenzhen 2009