In the

law of the European Union European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

, indicative limit values, more exactly indicative occupational exposure limit values (IOELVs), are

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

exposure limits to

hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm Harm is a moral and legal concept. Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following: * pain * death * disability * mortality * loss of abil ity or freedom * loss of pleasure. Joel Feinberg giv ...

ous substances specified by the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

based on expert

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

and advice. They are not binding on

member states A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...

but must be taken into consideration in setting national

occupational exposure limit An occupational exposure limit is an upper limit on the acceptable concentration of a hazardous substance in workplace air for a particular material or class of materials. It is typically set by competent national authorities and enforced by legi ...

s. Some member states have pre-existing national limits lower than the IOELV and are not required to revise these upwards. In practice, most member states adopt the IOELV but there are some variances upwards and downwards.

Legal basis

A system of IOELVs was first introduced in 1980 by directive 80/1107/EEC but the first list of 27 substances was not created until directive 91/322/EC in 1991. Member states had until 31 December 1993 to implement national limits. This first list was amended by directive 2006/15/EC in 2006 which transferred 10 of the 27 to a different regulatory regime. A second list was defined in directive 96/94/EEC but this was

repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...

ed by directive 2000/39/EC.Dikshith & Diwan (2003) ''p.''189 In 1998, directive 80/1107/EEC was repealed and replaced by a new regime under the chemical agents directive (directive 98/24/EC). The directive defines occupational exposure limit value as "the limit of the time-

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

of the

concentration In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', ''molar concentration'', ''number concentration'', an ...

of a chemical agent in the

air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

within the breathing zone of a worker over a specified reference period." Article 3 of the directive led to the creation of the

Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limit Values The Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limit Values (SCOEL) is a committee of the European Commission established in 1995 to advise on occupational exposure limits for chemicals in the workplace within the framework of: * Directive 98/24 ...

to advise the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

. There have subsequently been two directives establishing further lists of IOELVs: 2000/39/EC and 2006/15/EC. , the IOELVs under directive 91/322/EC remain in force but under review. A third list of IOELVs, now under directive 98/24/EC, is expected in the first half of 2008.

References

Bibliography

* (

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) * * *{{ cite book , title=Beyond Limits? Dealing with Chemical Risks at Work in Europe , author1=Walters, D. , author2=Grodzki, K. , year=2006 , publisher=Emerald Group Publishing , isbn=0080448585 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VbJzHlJFdVcC (Google Books) European Union law Occupational safety and health Toxicology