[Environmental and occupational exposure to vitreous fibers: the initiatives of the European Commission]. / Esposizione ambientale e occupazionale a fibre vetrose: iniziative della Commissione Europea.

The recent classification of a certain number of glass fibres by the European Commission within the framework of the Council Directive 67/548/CEE has reopened the debate on the carcinogenicity of these fibres at the level of the European Union. There is the risk of a law suit being field before the Court of Justice in Luxembourg against Germany, "guilty" of not having observed Community regulations. As regards worker protection, the recent Council Directive on chemical agents reviews the legal aspects concerning both preventive measures and the setting of limit values of occupational exposure.

The role of biomarkers in the EC directives on health and safety.

In the European Union, several Council Directives have been adopted which contain measures relating to ambient monitoring and the health surveillance for workers, but only one relates specifically to biological monitoring. Even if the legislative provisions on biological monitoring are limited, the Commission of the European Community has supported activities in this field for several years. In a proposal for a Council Directive on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work, which is now under discussion, there are some sentences relating to biological monitoring: (i) where biological monitoring is carried out it shall form part of health surveillance. Where indicated by the nature of the risk, biological monitoring shall be used to reveal pre-clinical effects on the health status of workers in order to permit intervention to prevent clinical deterioration; (ii) the result of biological monitoring shall not be used to discriminate against the worker. Biological limit values and related requirements are to be observed as part of health surveillance.