The European Parliament has voted to amend a directive on protecting workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work by adding exposure limits for ethylene dichloride (EDC), which is used to make furniture, automobile upholstery and wall coverings.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) backed exposure limits for this chemical – also known as 1,2-dichloroethane – of 8.2mg/spm, which would come into force two years after the rule is written into the European Union (EU) official journal.
This should happen next year, because the proposal still needs approval by the EU Council of Ministers, which in June (2018) debated the amendment. This also adds exposure limits to seven other chemicals, including diesel fumes, which are not directly used in textile manufacture.
A parliament communiqué says: “The new rules should further lower the risk for workers of getting cancer, which remains the primary cause of work-related deaths across the EU.”
*See full EP text here
