• The Healthy Workplaces Campaigns — our two-year campaigns raise awareness of occupational safety and health (OSH) topics across Europe
• Online interactive Risk Assessment (OiRA) project — we provide online risk assessment tools for small and medium-sized enterprises to assess and manage risks in the workplace
• The ESENER survey — this extensive survey provides a snapshot of how safety and health risks are managed in European workplaces
• OSHwiki  — a collaborative online encyclopaedia of accurate and reliable information on OSH
• Foresight projects — we highlight and study new and emerging risks in OSH through dedicated foresight projects
• OSH overviews — we provide overviews on specific OSH topics and identify priorities
• NAPO films  — a series of short, lighthearted, language-free films on important workplace safety and health topics

The health problems that can be caused by working with dangerous substances range from mild eye and skin irritation to severe effects, such as birth defects and cancer. Effects can be acute or long term, and some substances can have a cumulative effect. Some of the most common dangers are:

• Allergies
• Skin diseases
• Cancers
• Reproductive problems and birth defects
• Respiratory diseases
• Poisoning

Some dangerous substances pose safety risks, such as risk of fire, explosion or suffocation. In addition, dangerous substances normally have several of these properties.

Bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are found in many sectors. They are usually invisible, which means that the risks they pose may not be considered.

Workers in some sectors are in particular danger of being exposed to harmful biological agents: healthcare, agriculture, veterinary services, cleaning and maintenance, sewage and waste management, gardening and laboratory work.

Find out more:

• Factsheet 41 An introduction to biological agents
• OSHwiki article Biological agents
• EU legislation on biological agents at work and on prevention from sharp injuries and guidelines for the healthcare sector
• Work-related diseases from biological agents
• E-fact 53 — Risk assessment for biological agents
• Biological agents and pandemics: review of the literature and national policies
• Factsheet 39 — Respiratory sensitisers
• Factsheet 40 — Skin sensitisers
• Factsheet 100 — Legionella and legionnaires’ disease: European policies and good practices

New technologies, expanding sectors and changes to the way work is organised can result in greater risk of harm from biological or chemical agents. In the environmental sector, for example, innovative technologies can entail poorly understood risks. To give another example, more and more workers are exposed to dangerous substances in service professions such as home care and waste management, where the exposure is varied but awareness of the hazards involved is low. More than ever, it’s vital that employers and workers understand the potential risks and take preventive action.

Find out more on emerging risks, green jobs and nanomaterials.

More information related to emerging risks:

• Priorities for occupational safety and health research in Europe: 2013-2020
• Report — Green jobs and occupational safety and health: Foresight on new and emerging risks associated with new technologies by 2020 and Summary
• E-fact 72 — Tools for the management of nanomaterials in the workplace and prevention measures
• E-fact 74 — Nanomaterials in maintenance work: occupational risks and prevention

To protect workers from dangerous substances, the first step is to carry out a risk assessment. Then, actions should be taken to remove or reduce the risks as far as possible. And, finally, the situation should be regularly monitored and the effectiveness of the steps taken reviewed.

Member States as well as EU-OSHA have developed a number of models to help small and medium-sized enterprises to carry out risk assessment. The Dangerous Substances e-tool provides employers with the support and advice they need to effectively manage dangerous substances in the workplace. A database of practical tools and guidance  contains practical measures for workplaces, such as guidance on risk assessments and how to substitute or eliminate the use of dangerous substances, case studies and a variety of instruments.

Read more on the OSHwiki page about risk management tools for dangerous substances. 

Employers also need to take into account any vulnerable groups, such as workers who are young, pregnant or breastfeeding, for whom special protection is required by law. Other groups of workers, such as migrant workers, untrained or inexperienced staff, and contractors, such as cleaners, also need to be considered and prevention tailored to their needs.

Hierarchy of prevention

European worker protection legislation establishes a hierarchy of measures that employers need to take to control the risks to workers from dangerous substances.

• Elimination and substitution are at the top of the hierarchy of control measures. Where possible, eliminate the use of dangerous substances by changing the process or product in which the substance is used.
• If elimination is not possible, substitute a non-hazardous or less hazardous substance for the dangerous one.
• If a substance or process cannot be eliminated or substituted, the exposure can be prevented or reduced by technical and organisational solutions. These are, for example, control of the emission at the source (closed system or local exhaust ventilation), or reducing the number of workers exposed to the dangerous substance, and the duration and intensity of exposure.
• By law, using personal protective equipment (PPE) is the last resort where exposure cannot be adequately controlled by other means.

Read more:

• OSH wiki section Risk management of dangerous substances
• PPT Dangerous substances and risk assessment (in 22 languages)
• Info sheet: Substitution of dangerous substances in the workplace
• E-fact 66 — Maintenance and hazardous substances

Good communication

To ensure their safety, workers should be kept informed about:

• The findings of their employer’s risk assessments
• The hazards they are exposed to and how they may be affected
• What they have to do to keep themselves and others safe
• How to check and spot when things are wrong
• Who they should report any problems to
• The results of any exposure monitoring or health surveillance
• Preventive measures to be taken in case of maintenance work
• First aid and emergency procedures

Read EU-OSHA’s e-fact on dangerous substances and successful workplace communication

Occupational exposure limits

For a number of dangerous substances, the EU and Member States have set Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) that need to be respected.
Binding (which means that they must be met) and indicative (as an indication of what should be achieved) OEL values for dangerous substances are also laid down in European OSH directives. OELs for hazardous substances are important information for risk assessment and management. Most EU Member States establish their own national OELs, usually including more substances than the EU directives. However, OELs have been set for only a limited number of the substances currently used in the workplace.

There are many dangerous substances classified as carcinogens to which workers may be exposed. Some are generated by work processes themselves.

There are specific provisions in the EU to protect workers. According to the Carcinogens Directive, employers must assess and avoid or minimise the exposure to carcinogens or mutagens. In addition to applying the hierarchy of prevention measures:

• They shall replace a carcinogen or mutagen in so far as is technically possible with a substance, mixture or process which is not or is less dangerous.
• Where this is not possible, ensure that it is, in so far as is technically possible, manufactured and used in a closed system.
• Where a closed system is not technically possible, employers shall reduce exposure to as low as is technically possible, limiting the quantities and keeping the number of workers exposed as low as possible.

They must also:

• Demarcate risk areas and use adequate warning and safety signs
• Design the work processes so as to minimise the substance release
• Evacuate carcinogens or mutagens at source, but respect the environment
• Use appropriate measurement procedures (especially for early detection of abnormal exposures from an unforeseeable event or accident)
• Use individual protection measures if collective protection measures are not enough
• Provide for hygiene measures (regular cleaning)
• Draw up emergency plans
• Use sealed and clearly and visibly labelled containers for storage, handling, transportation and waste disposal

They also have specific information requirements for workers and authorities and need to keep records of exposed workers, measurements and health surveillance results.

OSHwiki articles: Asbestos, Respirable Crystalline Silica

Visit the web section on work-related cancer

Learn more about the Roadmap on carcinogens

Everyone involved in managing dangerous substances in workplaces needs to be aware of the legislative framework covering dangerous substances in the EU.

OSH legislation is aimed at protecting workers from safety and health risks in general and of dangerous substances in the workplace (e.g. the Chemical Agents Directive, the Carcinogens Directive, and the directives on limit values). It requires employers to carry out a workplace risk assessment of all safety and health risks, including the risks from dangerous substances, and to set appropriate protection and prevention measures. Find summaries of the relevant EU legislation.

The aim is to ensure that risks are tackled at the source and to make collective measures — that is, measures that protect a group of workers in a systematic way — the first priority.

The REACH legislation and the CLP Regulation require chemical manufacturers and suppliers to ensure that standardised safety labels, hazard pictograms and safety data sheets are provided. These provide information on the properties of substances and the hazards associated with them, and guidance on storage, handling and risk prevention. Other regulations and guidelines cover specific aspects, such as manufacturing, supplying, transporting and labelling dangerous substances, and these are often relevant to the workplace too.

EU regulations on safety and health at work are incorporated into national legislation, but Member States are also entitled to include additional or stricter provisions for the protection of workers. It is therefore important that enterprises check the specific legislation in each relevant country.

• Info sheet: Legislative framework on dangerous substances in workplaces

Find more about:

• Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)
• Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation

Many attributes, such as wisdom, strategic thinking, holistic perception and the ability to deliberate, either increase or first emerge with increasing age. Work experience and expertise also accumulate with age.

But some functional capacities, mainly physical and sensory, decline as a result of the natural ageing process. Potential changes in functional capacities have to be taken into account in risk assessment (see below), and work and the work environment have to be modified to address those changes.

Age-related changes in functional capacity are not uniform because of individual differences in lifestyle, nutrition, fitness, genetic predisposition to illness, educational level, and work and other environments.

Older workers are not a homogeneous group; there can be considerable differences between individuals of the same age.

Age-related decline affects mainly physical and sensory capacities, which are most relevant to heavy physical work. The shift from extractive and manufacturing industry towards services and knowledge-based industry, as well as increased automation and mechanisation of tasks and use of powered equipment, has reduced the need for heavy physical work.

In this new context, many abilities and skills associated with older people, such as good interpersonal skills, customer service and quality awareness, are increasingly valued.

Furthermore, many age-related changes are more relevant in some professional activities than in others. For example, changes in balance have an implication for fire-fighters and rescue personnel who work in extreme conditions, wearing heavy equipment and lifting and carrying people; a decreased ability to judge distances and the speed of moving objects has an implication for night-driving but does not affect office workers.

Age is just one aspect of a diverse workforce. Age-sensitive risk assessment means taking into account age-related characteristics of different age groups when assessing risks, including potential changes in functional capacities and health status.

Risks relevant to older workers in particular include:

• Heavy physical workload
• Hazards related to shift work
• Hot, cold or noisy work environments

As inter-individual differences increase with age, assumptions should not be made purely on the basis of age. The risk assessment should consider work demands in relation to the individual’s abilities and health status.

Find out more about the current Online interactive Risk Assessment (OiRA) tools available, age-sensitive risk assessments and ensuring everyone is covered.

Work Ability is the balance between work and individual resources; when work and individual resources fit well together, work ability is good. The core factors affecting this are:

• Health and functional capabilities
• Education and competence
• Values, attitudes and motivation
• Work environment and community
• The content, demands and organisation of work

Work ability can be measured by the Work Ability Index. The work ability concept suggests that actions in the workplace to promote work ability should cover all these factors.

People’s health in later life is affected by their health behaviour earlier in life. Decline of functional capacities can be delayed and minimised by healthy lifestyle habits, such as regular exercise and healthy eating. The workplace has a key role to play in promoting a healthy lifestyle and supporting activities that prevent physical decline, thus help to maintain work ability. Workplace health promotion (WHP) covers a variety of topics including diet and nutrition, alcohol consumption, quitting smoking and getting enough exercise, recovery and sleep.

Good workplace design benefits all age groups, including older workers. As abilities change, work also has to be changed to compensate, for example with:

• Job redesign or rotation
• More frequent short breaks
• Improved organisation of shift work, e.g. fast (2–3 days) forward-rotating shifts
• Good lighting and noise control
• Good ergonomic design of equipment

Long-term sickness can cause mental health issues, social exclusion and early exit from the labour market. Facilitating the return of workers after sickness is key to supporting the ageing workforce. Examples of initiatives taken to promote return to work in European countries include the creation of the ‘fit note’ instead of the sick note in the UK and a Return to Work intervention project in Denmark.

Read EU-OSHA’s back to work report and find out more in the related factsheet.