Europeans increase efforts to reduce occupational cancer risk
The European Roadmap on Carcinogens – an initiative first launched in May 2016 in Amsterdam under the Dutch EU Presidency – was extended last week in Helsinki by organizations that included the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). The roadmap is a voluntary effort to raise awareness among workers and employers about the risks of exposure to carcinogens in the workplace.
After its launch, the initiative was first extended by Austria in Vienna and now by Finland in Helsinki. The Roadmap will then pass to Berlin, as Germany (after Croatia) will hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU until the end of 2020.
Preventing work-related cancers
According to Per Hilmersson, ETUC Deputy General Secretary responsible for health and safety at work who signed the new covenant at a conference held by the Finnish EU Presidency, “the EU Roadmap on Carcinogens shows the willingness of member states, the European Commission, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, and the social partners to work together to prevent work-related cancers.”
The activities developed by the many partners of the Roadmap aim to provide employers with information on evaluation and risk management methods, to raise the awareness of companies regarding the risks of exposure to carcinogens, and to deepen the exchange of good practices which already exist in this field. All these initiatives are listed on a dedicated website roadmaponcarcinogens.eu.
Occupational cancers cause an estimated 100,000+ deaths each year in the EU.
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Source: European Trade Union Institute (ETUI)
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