Closing Event
Working with dangerous substances: The European policy challenge
Closing Event of the European Week For Safety and Health at Work 2003
Monday 24 November 2003
Participation by invitation only.
Working with dangerous substances: The European policy challenge
The closing event of the European Week 2003 is jointly organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the Italian Presidency of the European Union. It includes workshops and a colloquium as well as the presentation of the 2003 good practice awards.
Dangerous substances can be found in nearly all workplaces — from farms and factories to hairdressers and hospitals. Global production of chemicals is now running at 400 million tonnes each year and there are 100,000 different substances registered for sale in the European Union. That is why this year’s European Week for Safety and Health at Work is focusing on reducing the health risks of using dangerous substances.
During October 2003, a wide variety of activities have taken place throughout the Member States and the candidate countries. They aimed at making Europe a safe and healthy place to work by promoting activities to reduce the risks of working with dangerous substances.
The closing event of the European week 2003 provides an opportunity for leading European decision makers and safety and health experts to discuss how to reduce the risks of working with dangerous substances, focusing on the policy challenges. It also aims to promote the results of the European week and to highlight good practices in risk prevention.
The morning workshops will concentrate on discussion and exchange of information and experiences. The results of these discussions will be used as an input into the afternoon’s colloquium.
The closing event will also include an awards ceremony, to recognise companies or organisations that have made outstanding and innovative contributions to the prevention of risks from dangerous substances at workplace level. This includes prevention of risks from both chemical and biological substances. The awards aim to demonstrate, by example, to all European employers and workers the benefits of following good safety and health practices to prevent risks from dangerous substances at work.
We would like to welcome all participants to the closing event. We hope it will stimulate the exchange of experiences, provide new information and promote the discussion of new and challenging policy initiatives to address this well known, but still major risk.
|
Hans-Horst Konkolewsky
Director of the European Agency for Safety
and Health at Work
|
Roberto Maroni
Minister for Labour and Social Affairs
EU Italian presidency
|
PROGRAMME
The closing event of the European Week 2003 is jointly organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the Italian Presidency of the European Union. It includes workshops and a colloquium as well as the presentation of the 2003 good practice awards.
The event provides an opportunity for leading European decision makers and safety and health experts to discuss how to reduce the risks of working with dangerous substances, focusing on the policy challenges. It also aims to promote the results of the European week (http://osha.europa.eu/ew2003/) and to highlight good practices in risk prevention.
8.45-9.30
Registration and welcome coffee
PRE-COLLOQUIUM WORKSHOPS
9.30-12.30
WORKING WITH DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES: THE EUROPEAN POLICY CHALLENGE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
The morning workshops will provide an opportunity for discussion and exchange of information and experiences. The results of these discussions will be used as an input into the afternoon’s colloquium.
Workshop 1: Successful substitution: the EU’s top priority risk reduction strategy
Elimination and substitution are the first control measures to be taken by employers using dangerous substances. Successful substitution is possible. This workshop presents practical examples of how it can be achieved, and also substitution policies.
Chair:
Vassilios Makropoulos, President of ELINYAE, Greece
Rapporteur:
Elke Schneider, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
- Solvents reduction in the printing industry (Kåre Hendriksen, Rambøll A/S, Denmark)
- Substitution of asbestos and carcinogenic man-made mineral fibres - the development of biosoluble fibres, (Rolf Packroff, BAuA, Germany)
- Substitution of release oils for concrete moulds by water-based products (Pieter van Broekhuizen, IVAM, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)
- 15 years of substitution practice in Sweden (Lars Gustafsson, KEMI, National Chemicals Inspectorate, Sweden)
Workshop 2: Getting the safety message across: communication of information about dangerous substances
Examples of written information (such as brochures, leaflets, etc.) about dangerous substances are plentiful and readily available. Nevertheless, awareness and knowledge about the hazards and how to combat them is scarce, especially in the majority of Europe’s companies: SMEs. This workshop aims to show how information about dangerous substances can be communicated effectively and to present some successful initiatives.
Chair:
Henk Schrama, Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, The Netherlands
Rapporteur:
Paolo Onelli, Director General, Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs, Italy
- PIMEX - visualising risks at workplaces by video and monitoring (Hubert Novak, AUVA, Austria)
- UK experiences in the workplace with safety data sheets and COSHH essentials (John Thompson, HSE, GB)
- Awareness raising campaign on biological agents risks in the meat sector (Colette Le B-cle, INRS, France)
- Inter-company database for communication about dangerous substances (Antonio Niro, Polimeri Europa)
Workshop 3: Strategies and policies
To protect workers, employers who use dangerous substances are legally required to carry out a risk assessment and modify the working environment accordingly. Also, the EU is adapting its chemicals policy to address the use of the still rising number of dangerous substances. This workshop aims to present important features and developments in the EU’s overall protection policy against dangerous substances.
Chair:
Kai Savolainen, Head of Department of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
Rapporteur:
Lothar Lissner, Cooperation Centre Hamburg, Ministry of Science and Research, Hamburg, Germany
Risk assessment guidelines for dangerous substances (Antonis
Angelidis, Health, Safety and Hygiene at Work, DG Employment and Social Affairs, European Commission)
- The new European chemicals policy and the REACH system and its possible implications for workplaces (Karola Grodzki, Chemicals Unit, DG Enterprise, European Commission)
- The Dutch dangerous substances strategy SOMS – practical experiences (Albert Hollander, SZW, Netherlands)
- The Nordic Expert Group for criteria documentation of health risks from chemicals - a possible way forward in pan-European OEL setting? (Gunnar Johanson, Karolinska Institute, Sweden, Chairman of the Nordic Expert Group)
12.30-14.00
Lunch
COLLOQUIUM
14.00-18.30
WORKING WITH DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES: THE EUROPEAN POLICY CHALLENGE
VENUE: EUSKALDUNA CONFERENCE CENTRE, BILBAO
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN, SPANISH
14.00 - 15.00 Opening
Chair:
Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
Welcome by Eduardo Zaplana*, Minister for Employment and Social Affairs, Spain
Opening statements:
Roberto Maroni, Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, EU Italian Presidency
Odile Quintin, Director General, DG Employment and Social Affairs, European Commission
15.00 - 18.15 Roundtable discussions
Chair:
Bertil Remaeus, Chair of the Administrative Board of the European Agency
Each roundtable discussion will be preceded by a five-minute presentation of the main conclusions of the relevant morning workshop
15.00 - 16.00 Successful substitution: the EU’s top priority risk reduction strategy
- Elke Schneider, Moderator and rapporteur of workshop 1, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
- Paul Glynn, DG Employment and Social Affairs, European Commission
- Vassilios Makropoulos, President of ELINYAE, Greece (EU presidency troika)
- Manuel Pérez Álvarez, MEP; Member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, European Parliament
- Patrick Levy, Corporate Medical Adviser, Rhodia Group, France, employers’ representative
- Marc Sapir, Director of the ETUC’s Technical Bureau, TUTB (workers’ representative)
16.00 - 16.15 Coffee break
16.15 - 17.15 Getting the safety message across: communication of information about dangerous substances
- Paolo Onelli, Moderator and rapporteur of workshop 2, Director General, Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs, Italy
- Karola Grodzki, Chemicals Unit, DG Enterprise, European Commission
- Giuseppina Camilletti, Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs, Italy (EU presidency)
- Derek Hunter, Member of the Employment and Social Affairs Section of the European Economic and Social Committee
- Utz Tillmann, Executive Director, CEFIC (employers’ representative)
- Reinhard Reibsch, General Secretary, EMCEF (workers’ representative)
17.15 - 18.15 Strategies and policies
- Lothar Lissner, Moderator and rapporteur workshop 3, Kooperationsstelle Hamburg, Germany
- Mark Blainey, DG Environment, European Commission
- N.N., Member of European Parlament
- Pat Donnellan, Programme Manager, Health and Safety Authority, Ireland (EU presidency troika)
- Patrick Levy, Corporate Medical Adviser, Rhodia Group, France, Employers’ representative
- Cándido Méndez, Chairperson, ETUC (workers’ representative)
18.15 - 18.30 Closing statement
- Bernard Jansen, Director, DG Employment and Social Affairs, European Commission
18.30 End Colloquium
GOOD PRACTICE AWARDS EVENING
VENUE: GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM
19.30 Reception Cocktail (Lobby of Guggenheim)
• Welcome by the County of Bizkaia
20.30 Awards Dinner (Atrium of Guggenheim)
• European Good Practice Awards Ceremony
• Dinner
General Information
Venues
Workshops and colloquium venue
Euskalduna Conference Centre, Bilbao, Spain
Awards dinner venue
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain
Date
Monday 24 November 2003
Participation
The number of participants is limited. Early registration is recommended. Participation is free of charge and includes a colloquium pack with full information and details of attendance at the awards dinner. Vegetarians and participants with food allergies should tell the colloquium secretariat about any special requirements.
Working languages
The working languages of the colloquium will be English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The workshops, however, will be held only in English.
Travel and hotel accommodation
For travel and hotel accommodation and other practicalities, please contact the colloquium secretariat:
TISA – COLLOQUIUM
Teléfono +34 94 424 39 97 • Fax +34 94 435 22 30
E-mail: congreso2@tisasa.es
* to be confirmed
