11 PROTECTION OF WORKERS FROM RISKS ARISING
FROM PHYSICAL AGENTS (ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND WAVES)
(24551)
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| Draft Directive on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields and waves).
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| Department | Work and Pensions
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| Basis of consideration |
Minister's letter of 28 November 2003 |
| Previous Committee Report |
HC 63-xxviii (2002-03), paragraph 4 (2 July 2003) and HC 63-xxxi (2002-03), paragraph 15 (10 September 2003)
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| Discussed in Council | 20 October 2003
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared (decision reported on 10 September 2003)
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Background
11.1 Council Directive 89/391/EEC[23]
provides a framework for the introduction of measures to improve
the safety and health of workers at work by laying down the general
principles to be followed. In February 1993, the Commission put
forward a proposal for a further, more specific Directive, which
would have set out harmonised requirements for protection against
noise, vibration, optical radiation and non-ionising electro-magnetic
radiation.2 However, this was not pursued by the Council,
which has instead since considered individual measures dealing
with protection against vibration[24]
and noise.[25]
11.2 The current document — which
was put forward by the Danish Presidency in December 2002 —
addresses the acute risks arising from exposure at work[26]
to high levels of electromagnetic fields and waves (EMFs). When
we first considered this on 2 July 2003, we noted that the Government
had identified a number of important differences between this
text and those produced earlier, and that it appeared that the
benefits were likely to be negligible, but the costs — where
these could be assessed — extremely high. We therefore suggested
that that there was, on the face of it, a strong case for our
recommending a debate in European Standing Committee C, but we
added that much would clearly depend upon any further Regulatory
Impact Assessments.
11.3 We subsequently received a letter of
26 August 2003 from the Minister of State for Work and Pensions
(Mr Des Browne), in which he said that, as a result of a number
of meetings held at official level the Italian Presidency was
aiming to reach political agreement in the Council on 20-21 October.
He added that significant revisions had been made to the earlier
text, as a result of which the proposal was now broadly in line
with the concepts on which the relevant international guidelines
are based. As a result, the potential costs of the measure had
been significantly reduced. The Minister added that the revised
cost implications would be drawn out in a further Regulatory Impact
Assessment, which would be produced once political agreement had
been reached in the Council. On that basis, we cleared the document
on 10 September 2003.
Minister's letter of 28 November 2003
11.4 We have now received a further letter
of 28 November 2003 from the Minister, attaching the text on
which the Council reached unanimous political agreement on 20
October. The Minister has also provided the promised further
Regulatory Impact Assessment, which shows that, as a result of
the changes made, the costs of the proposal over a ten-year period
have been reduced from £567-1,540 million to £9-32 million.
Conclusion
11.5 Since we have already cleared this
proposal, we are simply drawing this further information, and
in particular the revised cost estimates, to the attention of
the House.
23 OJ No. L 183, 29.6.89, p.1. Back
24
(19934) ; see HC 34-xiii (1998-99), paragraph 7 (17 March 1999),
HC 34-xviii (1998-99), paragraph 5 (5 May 1999), HC 23-xxx (1999-2000),
paragraph 10 (22 November 2000) and HC 28-i (2000-01), paragraph
7 (13 December 2000). Back
25
(22228) - ; see HC 152-i (2001-02), paragraph 40 (18 July 2001). Back
26
It does not apply to any wider public exposure, arising (for
example) from mobile telephones or overhead power lines, and nor
is it concerned with long-term exposure effects. Back
|
