European conference on how to reduce the risks of working with dangerous substances

Dangerous substances can be found in nearly all workplaces – from farms and factories to hairdressers and hospitals. Skin complaints, lung disorders and cancers are just some of the risks. 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. These staggering figures will provide the backdrop for the deliberations of policy-makers, health and safety experts, academics, business representatives and trade unionists, who will gather in Bilbao, Spain, to focus on the theme of reducing the risks of working with dangerous substances. 

 

The conference is jointly organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the Italian Presidency of the European Union and is the closing event for a major EU-wide awareness raising campaign on this key health and safety problem. It will include workshops and a colloquium as well as the presentation of the 2003 European good practice awards in safety and health at work. 

 

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 campaign ( http://osha.europa.eu/ew2003/ ) and to highlight good practices in risk prevention.  

 

Key speakers at the colloquium will include Roberto Maroni, Italian minister for Labour and Social Affairs, Odile Quintin, Director General of the European Commission’s DG Employment and Social Affairs and senior representatives of the Economic and Social Committee and European social partners  

 

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Further information 

Further information on the closing event and the European Week 2003 can be found at http://osha.europa.eu/ew2003/ 

 

A comprehensive press pack on the Agency’s campaign on dangerous substances at work is available at http://osha.europa.eu/ew2003/presspack/ 

 

European Week reports and fact sheets are available in the ‘information resources’ section of the European Week website at http://osha.europa.eu/ew2003/ 

 

Press contact: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Eke Heetveld, Tel: +34 94 479 43 86  

Other enquiries: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Gran Via 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain, email: information@osha.europa.eu , fax: +34 94 479 4383  

 

1.Attendance at the conference is by invitation only. 

2.Contact the Agency press office for a press pass.  

3.Press conference: On Monday 24 November at 12.30 p.m. there will be a press conference with leading conference participants in the Euskalduna conference centre, Bilbao.  

 

1.Background to the Agency and the European Week 

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was set up by the European Union to help meet the information needs in the field of occupational safety and health. Based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency aims to improve the lives of people at work by stimulating the flow of technical, scientific and economic information between all those involved in occupational safety and health issues.  

 

2.The European Week for Safety and Health at Work which has taken place during October 2003 is an information campaign designed to raise awareness and promote activities to make Europe a safe and healthy place to work. It is coordinated by the European Agency and ran in the Member States, EFTA and EU candidate countries in October 2003 with each country deciding the precise week. The European Week is aimed at the workplace and all safety and health institutions and organisations, trade unions, companies, managers, employees and safety representatives were invited to take part and organise their own activities. 

 

3.New Agency publications 

How to convey OSH information effectively: the case of dangerous substances, ISBN 92-9191-044-9, price €25, can be ordered from the EC’s Publications Office in Luxembourg ( http://eur-op.eu.int ) or its sales agents. Alternatively, it can be downloaded free of charge from the Agency’s website http://agency.osha.europa.eu/publications/reports/