The transport sector is a growing sector of the European economy and is highly affected by change: the growing proportion of women, migrant and part-time workers, the rapid ageing of the workforce and many technological innovations. Transport workers are exposed to multiple physical risks and violence, and many have unusual working times and carry out repetitive and monotonous work. The consequences are high accident rates, and high rates of musculoskeletal disorders, stress and fatigue.

This report provides an overview of the most important issues related to occupational safety and health (OSH) for workers in the cleaning sector in terms of working conditions, risks and prevalence of exposures, and health outcomes, and identifies information gaps and challenges. Cleaning includes a broad range of activities performed in different work environments across all sectors. The risks to which cleaners are exposed depend on the tasks they perform and the premises they work in.

It is estimated that about 74,000 work-related deaths may be linked to hazardous substances at work each year in the EU — about 10 times more than workplace accidents. About 15% of European workers report handling chemical products for a quarter of their working time and 19% report breathing in dust, fumes and smoke in their workplaces. The 49 experts from 21 European countries who participated in this forecast study highlighted that particles and dusts are major emerging concerns and put nanoparticles at the top of the list of emerging risks.

This factsheet provides a short introduction to nanomaterials and the risks they pose to workers’ safety and health. It explains how workers may encounter nanomaterials when undertaking maintenance work and it presents information on what should be done to prevent exposure.

This video shows how water flooding and atomised water mists suppress the generation of dusts as compared to dry cutting devices. This results in significantly lower concentrations of airborne crystalline silica dusts. The film shows dust formation in the video and the dust concentration as a curve from parallel dust measurements.
The video is available in several EU languages; access via selecting the proper language in the language menue and klick on "implementation / videos" on the NEPSI website.

This video shows bagging operations for small bags (15-50 kg) with flour products containing crystalline silica using automated bagging systems. It illustrates the following good practices: use automated bagging systems to prevent worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica dust; and make sure that the opening of the bag is directed away from the workers' breathing zone.
The video is available in several EU languages; access via selecting the proper language in the language menue and klick on "implementation / videos" on the NEPSI website.

This video demonstrates that entering the blasting booth 2 minutes after blasting significantly reduces the dust exposure of workers as compared to entering it directly after the blasting has ceased.
The video shows dusting in a film and as a concentration curve from parallel dust measurements.
The video is available in several EU languages; access via selecting the proper language in the language menue and klick on "implementation / videos" on the NEPSI website.

This video show that the design and use of equipment for the mixing of products containing crystalline silica significantly determines the exposure levels to dusts. It illustrates that closing the discharge point for mixing as well as the use of a well fitted local exhaust ventilation effectively protect workers from dust exposures.
The film shows dust formation in the video and as a concentration curve from the parallel dust measurement.

This video relates to bagging operations for large (bulk) bags (500-1,500 kg) containing crystalline silica products, particularly dry materials. It illustrates the following good practice: use extra measures along with jumbo bag filling equipment (e.g. use a bagging head, an annular ring connected to a dust extraction unit, a vibrating table) to limit the emission of fine dust.
The video is available in several EU languages; access via selecting the proper language in the language menue and klick on "implementation / videos" on the NEPSI website.

This video shows the charging of raw materials for glass making to the glass-melting furnace. It illustrates the following good practice: carry out batch charging by stream feeding materials into the batch charger from the furnace hopper.
The video is available in several EU languages; access via selecting the proper language in the language menue and klick on "implementation / videos".