European Week for Safety and Health at Work
European Week 'Dangerous substances: handle with care!' 27 to 31 October 2003
In 2003 the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work drew attention to working with dangerous substances. And not without reason. In Europe 32 million employees are exposed to substances that can cause cancer, 100,000 different substances are traded on the European market and 96% of the companies in the European chemical industry are small and medium-sized companies with a limited knowledge of substances.
This is an important subject in the Netherlands too. 30% of companies regularly handle dangerous substances. Entrepreneurs however, particularly in the SME sector, are not properly aware of the risks. The effects of exposure to these substances on health are clearly visible in the form of industrial illnesses, such as asbestos-related illnesses, OPS and disorders of the airways and skin. In addition to this personal suffering, society as a whole suffers the disadvantages of this in the more economic sense. The costs of absenteeism and replacement, damage to the production process and sometimes long-term incapacity for work are a considerable cost item.
The European Week was initiated by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and was held at the same time in all member states. More information on the European Week in the other member states is available at http://ew2003.osha.europa.eu/. The European Week was organised in the Netherlands by the Focal Point Nederland.
