Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Benzene Convention, 1971 (No. 136) - Kuwait (Ratification: 1974)

Articles 6 and 14 of the Convention. Maximum concentration and measurement of benzene in the air in workplaces. Supervision of the application of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that Decision No. 210 of 2001 was updated by Decision No. 3 of 2020, keeping into account international standards for environmental exposure as well as the exposure limits set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The Government indicates that the level of exposure is set at 1 part per million (ppm) during an eight-hour working day and at 5 ppm during short periods (15 minutes). The Committee also notes that the Environment Public Authority periodically inspects industrial undertakings and obliges different industries to apply all the provisions of the Environmental Protection Law No. 42 of 2014 and its amendments. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measurements carried out by the labour inspectorate and the Environment Public Authority to monitor benzene concentrations in workplaces, including the number of instances in which exposure limits were exceeded. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether Decision No. 3 of 2020 or other legislative or regulatory instruments establish higher maximum exposure limits for specific industries.