Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2004, publiée 93ème session CIT (2005)

Convention (n° 139) sur le cancer professionnel, 1974 - Suède (Ratification: 1975)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in relation to Article 3 of the Convention. Further to its previous comments, it draws the Government’s attention to the following points.

1. The Committee notes the adoption of the overarching Provisions on Chemical Hazards of the Work Environment (AFS 2000:4) of 23 March 2000, and the Provisions on Occupational Exposure Limit Values and Measures Against Air Contaminants (AFS 2000:3) of 23 March 2000, issued by the Swedish National Board of Occupational Safety and Health (AFS), which consolidated and updated the existing national provisions aiming to prevent cancer at work.

2. Articles 1 and 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee notes that certain carcinogens, namely the agents hydrazine, monomethyl hydrazine and dimethyl hydrazine were added to group B of Annex 3 to the Provisions on Occupational Exposure Limit Values and Measures Against Air Contaminants (AFS 2000:3) indicating the substances that pursuant to section 23 may only be handled upon authorization of the competent authority. The Government considers that the grant of conditional permits would represent, on the one hand, an effective instrument to control the handling of substances having carcinogenic properties and, on the other hand, it would motivate the employer to deliberate on alternative non- or less-harmful substances or working methods. Taking note of the Government’s considerations, the Committee invites the Government to provide information on the impact of this approach in practice, i.e. to know whether the submission of the handling of carcinogens to prior authorization in fact would lead to their replacement as well as to the introduction of safer work processes.

3. The Committee further notes the revision concerning the handling of cytostatics and other pharmaceuticals with long-term toxic effects through the adoption of the Provisions on Cytostatic and Other Drugs with Enduring Toxic Effects (AFS 1999:11) aiming to reduce the exposure of workers significantly when handling them. The Committee also notes the adoption of the Ordinance on Asbestos (AFS 1996:13) revising and completing the Provisions AFS 1992:2 on the same subject. The Committee wishes to refer to its comments provided under the Asbestos Convention, 1986 (No. 162). The Committee finally notes the revision of the Provisions on Thermosetting Plastics (AFS 1996:4). The Government adds that the Work Environment Authority has allocated considerable resources to the supervision of workplaces where workers are exposed to isocyanates, which represent one of the most important thermoplastics. The Government further explains that, since certain isocyanates are deemed to entail a potential risk of cancer, the supervision was focused to the isocyanate hypersensitivity of the respiratory tract. With regard to the categorization of certain mineral fibres as carcinogens set forth in the European Union Directive 97/69/EC, amending Directive 67/548/EEC, the Swedish Work Environment Authority is charting the use and the exposure to mineral fibres in special projects. In this context, the Government indicates that a revision of the Provisions on Synthetic Inorganic Fibres (AFS 1990:9) is planned. The Committee taking due note of this information, requests the Government to supply additional information on the projects launched concerning workers’ exposure to mineral fibres. Finally, the Government is asked to transmit a copy of the Provisions on Synthetic Inorganic Fibres (AFS 1990:9) once they have been revised.

4. Article 5. The Committee notes the Government’s indication according to which the revision of the Provisions on Statutory Medical Checks has not been finished yet. Owing to the Swedish approach to eliminate the carcinogenic factors in the work environment in order to prevent cancer of occupational origin at its source, the Work Environment Authority has given an operational priority to this work and therefore the Provisions on Statutory Medical Checks are still being revised. In this respect, the Government adds that chemical and physical factors in the Swedish work environment are estimated to contribute only less than one-thousandth of all cancer cases in the country while a few decades ago the estimate was 2 per cent. Nevertheless, the revision work on statutory medical checks is in progress and the Work Environment Authority intends to study closely the possibilities of medical examinations, which will facilitate the early discovery of cancer in work environments with heightened cancer risks, so that rules on medical examinations can be introduced when it proves medically justifiable. With regard to medical examinations of workers after the termination of employment, the Government merely indicates that the setting of rules on this issue does not lie within the competence of the Work Environment Authority. The Committee, while noting with interest the different activities of the Work Environment Authority to eradicate carcinogenic factors in the work environment as well as the current revision of the Provisions on Statutory Medical Checks, wishes to underline the importance of medical examinations during and after the period of employment, which are necessary to evaluate the exposure of workers and their state of health. With regard to the Government’s indicated priority to eliminate the carcinogenic factors in the work environment, the Committee points out that periodic health examinations of workers frequently reveal the existence of health hazards in the workplace. The need to examine workers after they have ceased their employment is due to the fact that the occupational origin of cancer is often difficult to demonstrate, as from the clinical and pathological point of view, there is no difference between occupational cancer and other non-occupational forms. Moreover, its development is generally very slow, with the latent period stretching over anything from ten to 30 years or more. The Committee accordingly urges the Government to take the necessary measures to guarantee that workers are provided, during and after their employment, with medical examinations or biological or other tests or investigations necessary to evaluate their state of health in relation to the occupational hazards. The Government is also requested to transmit a copy of the Provisions on Statutory Medical Checks once they are have been revised.

5. Part IV of the report form. With regard to the Government’s indication concerning the planned supervision of workplaces in relation to workers’ exposure to isocyanates, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the outcome of the above described supervision of workplaces and on its impact on future legislative measures, e.g. the revision of the Provisions on Synthetic Inorganic Fibres (AFS 1990:9).