News item | 04-12-2023 | 16:49
If employees are exposed to so-called reprotoxic substances during work, this can have harmful effects on reproduction, the unborn child and breastfeeding. Examples are lead and lithium. The European Union has amended the directive on chemicals so that the stricter rules that already apply to substances that can cause cancer or damage to DNA also apply to these reprotoxic substances. Employers will have to take more precautions to protect their employees against the risks of these substances. In addition, EU limit values are set for the substances benzene, nickel compounds and acrylonitrile.
The Netherlands is obliged to elaborate the directive into national regulations. To this end, adjustments to the Working Conditions Decree and the Working Conditions Regulation have been drawn up. These adjustments go further than the European directive on two points. Firstly, a retention period of 40 years for the registration of exposure by companies is maintained. This already applies to carcinogenic substances, but is longer than the 5 years specified in the EU directive. This makes it easier to determine the consequences of exposure. Secondly, stricter rules will apply in the Netherlands compared to the directive for reprotoxic substances for which it is not clear whether there is a safe value. In that case, employers must always keep exposure as low as technically possible.
Internet consultation until December 29, 2023
The amendments to the Working Conditions Decree and the Working Conditions Regulation have now been published on internetconsultatie.nl. Anyone can respond to these adjustments via this website until December 29, 2023.