{"id":8815,"date":"2017-07-13T12:24:12","date_gmt":"2017-07-13T10:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.efnweb.be\/?p=8815"},"modified":"2017-07-13T12:24:12","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T10:24:12","slug":"public-hearing-empl-ep-committee-on-protecting-workers-from-carcinogens-and-mutagens-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?p=8815","title":{"rendered":"Public Hearing EMPL EP Committee on protecting workers from carcinogens and mutagens at work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the provisional agreement<\/a> reached by the Maltese presidency and the European Parliament on 28 June 2017 on a new directive<\/a> intended to help protect workers from exposure to carcinogens or mutagens in the workplace, the European Parliament Committee on Employment and Social Affairs organised today, 13 July, a Public Hearing<\/a> aiming to debate on the scientific and economic consideration underlying the important legislative proposal amending Directive 2004\/37\/EC<\/a> on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work (rapporteur Claude Rolin (EPP, FR), and in particular on its expected implications for the main stakeholders concerned, including the nurses.<\/p>\n

For the nursing profession<\/a>, this is a key concern, knowing that 7.3 million nurses, and more than\u00a012.7 million health professionals in Europe, are exposed every year to carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic hazardous drugs, and that the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (2004\/37\/EC) does not currently acknowledge the dangers of hazardous drugs in healthcare or detail how they should be prevented. In 2012 up to 106,500 cancer deaths were attributed to occupational exposure to carcinogenic substances, making cancer the first cause of work-related deaths in the EU. It is estimated that in Europe each year occupational exposure to hazardous drugs produces 2,220 new cases of leukaemia alone which results in 1,467 additional deaths of health professionals each year. It is, therefore, time to act to prevent nurses and other health professionals from the deadly chemical risks during activities such as the preparation and administration of hazardous drugs, including cytotoxic drugs used to treat patients with cancer.<\/p>\n

The EFN is working with MEPs and other expert groups to draft amendments to the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive<\/a> that will for the first time specifically address in legislation the risks to health professionals from occupational exposure to hazardous drugs and what needs to be done to protect them from contracting cancer and the reproductive problems that arise from carcinogenic drugs. The Directive should define hazardous drugs by the agreed six characteristics they display and the EU should publish regularly a list of hazardous drugs and guidelines to prevent occupational exposure. Health professionals must receive suitable and regular information on the risks, personal protective equipment, as well as suitable decontamination, cleaning and disinfection guidelines based on surface contamination levels and type of drugs and regular monitoring of surface contamination needs to be mandatory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following the provisional agreement reached by the Maltese presidency and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8650,"url":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?p=8650","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":0},"title":"European Expert Group on Hazardous Drugs","author":"efn efn","date":"May 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The European Biosafety Network (EBN) brought healthcare professions together in Brussels, including European and International Associations of professionals and practitioners as well as academic experts, explaining best practice in monitoring, contamination findings and prevention of exposure to hazardous drugs in healthcare (often hospitals), to exchange views on Hazardous Drugs, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10443,"url":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?p=10443","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":1},"title":"More concrete social and employment policies are required for the frontline workforce","author":"efn efn","date":"July 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Before the summer break, the European Parliament Employment Committee has discussed some very important topics for the nursing profession. The items debated by MEPs concerned key issues such as protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work, and employment and social policies in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9518,"url":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?p=9518","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":2},"title":"Safe workplaces needed for nurses!","author":"efn efn","date":"March 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The debate on guaranteeing a healthy and safe work environment for EU workers has been recently revamped with the European Pillar of Social Rights that, with its Principle 10 - Healthy, safe and well-adapted work environment and data protection, calls for the right to a high level of protection, health\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8490,"url":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?p=8490","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":3},"title":"The European Parliament voted on Own Initiative Reports important for Nurses","author":"efn efn","date":"March 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The European Parliament EMPL committee voted on the Own Initiative Report (OIR) for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2004\/37\/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens or mutagens at work. A topic of high relevance for nurses!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19459,"url":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?p=19459","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":4},"title":"The Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU","author":"efn efn","date":"January 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"On 1st January 2026, the Republic of Cyprus has assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, until June 2026. The Cyprus presidency marks the end of the trio of presidencies that was opened by the Polish presidency, and followed by the Danish one. Building on the work\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/efn.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/cyprus-eu-presidency-logo.webp?fit=1200%2C759&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/efn.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/cyprus-eu-presidency-logo.webp?fit=1200%2C759&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/efn.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/cyprus-eu-presidency-logo.webp?fit=1200%2C759&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/efn.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/cyprus-eu-presidency-logo.webp?fit=1200%2C759&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/efn.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/cyprus-eu-presidency-logo.webp?fit=1200%2C759&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14863,"url":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?p=14863","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":5},"title":"114th General Assembly of the European Federation of Nurses Associations","author":"efn efn","date":"April 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The 114th EFN General Assembly was held successfully. EFN Members welcomed the EU Commissioner for Jobs & Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, and exchanged views on the OSH strategic Framework, specifically concerning health professionals, and on the follow up of the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive IV agreement, notably on the hazardous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/?cat=35"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/efn.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ALL-ALL.jpg?fit=1074%2C980&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/efn.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ALL-ALL.jpg?fit=1074%2C980&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/efn.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ALL-ALL.jpg?fit=1074%2C980&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/efn.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ALL-ALL.jpg?fit=1074%2C980&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/efn.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ALL-ALL.jpg?fit=1074%2C980&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8815\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/efn.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}