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AT THE MEETING OF THE economic and social policy Ministers from the Member States at Luxembourg in June a text was agreed for the new Noise Directive. This has been under consideration since 1993 when a general physical agents directive was proposed to include noise, vibration, optical radiation and non-optical electromagnetic fields. As little progress was made the German presidency proposed, in 1999, limiting the directive's scope to vibration alone. This was agreed in November last year and therefore left the three other subjects to be dealt with. The Swedish presidency went for noise as the next step and now their efforts have borne fruit. The draft Directive fixes exposure limit values and exposure action values. The exposure action values trigger different degrees of protective measures. The exposure limit values lay down maximum noise levels which, however, are measured allowing for the wearing of individual hearing protectors. In each case a daily, or weekly, average noise exposure value in decibels, dB(A) is accompanied by a peak sound pressure value expressed in pascals (Pa) to take account of high instantaneous noise levels. The proposal would repeal the former (1986) directive on the topic and by implication the U.K. Noise at Work regulations, 1989. It would improve them by reducing the limit value from 90 dB (A) to 87 and the action value from 85 dB (A) to 80. Peak noise would have its action value reduced from 200 to 112 Pa. Health surveillance must now take place when levels reach 80 decibels and 112 pascals and hearing protection must be worn above 85 dB (A) and 200 Pa. Workers engaged in sea and air transport who were excluded from the scope of the 1986 Directive are now included. The proposals will now be passed to the European Parliament for consideration under the co-decision procedure. It is likely that adoption will occur before the end of this year with transposition into national legislation required within a further three years plus a possible extra five years in the case of sea and air transport.
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION has renewed its drive for more restrictive laws on tobacco advertising after a court defeat last year (see issue 11 page 7) killed off its previous directive on the matter. The Commission has now put forward new legislation that would stop cigarette adverts in newspapers, magazines and on the radio and internet.
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The aim is to reduce the number of smokers in EU countries and particularly to prevent young people taking up the habit. 'Tobacco is a highly addictive product and over 80% of smokers begin before the age of 18 years' commented David Byrne, Commissioner for Health, 'The correlation between tobacco advertising and consumption is significant' he added. |
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In the United States only one in five adults is a smoker while the EU figure is one in three of which 500,000 die every year of smoking-related diseases. The proposed law will also reduce maximum permitted levels of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide. The European Parliament recently voted for measures that will require all cigarette packets to carry warnings covering a total of 40% of the surface area. It also gave the Commission the power, which it had previously rejected, to insist on gruesome colour images at a later date. |
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The proposed restrictions would also ban tobacco sponsorship of sports events. |
GREECE has still failed to comply with the European Commission's ruling concerning a waste dump on the island of Crete. In an unprecedented move the Commission fined Greece €20,000 a day until the dump was cleaned up. So far the country has payed €4.78 million out of €5.4 million accrued (see issue 12 page 6).
SPAIN'S worsening accident record (see issue 12 page 7) was the reason for a strike in the country in April. High labour turnover due to the use of fixed term contracts is seen as contributing to the 159, 477 workplace accidents in the first two months of 2001 including 244 fatalities. The strike was timed to coincide with the International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers which highlighted asbestos.
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