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Meeting of Experts on Safety and Health
in the Non-ferrous Metals Industries
Geneva, 28 August-4 September 2001
Background
This Meeting was one of a regular series of tripartite
sectoral meetings - comprising representatives of governments, employers and
workers - held under the auspices of the International Labour Organization to
discuss current employment and labour issues of importance in the sector or industry
concerned, and to provide guidance for action, at national and international levels,
by employers' and workers' organizations, governments and the ILO itself.
Participation
The Meeting was composed of 24 experts from 18 countries: eight nominated by
governments of ILO member States chosen by the Governing Body of the International
labour Office; eight experts nominated by the Governing Body after consultations
with the Employers' group; and eight experts nominated by the Governing Body after
consultation with the Workers' group. Observers from a number of intergovernmental
and non-governmental organizations involved in the non-ferrous metals industries
were also present.
 ILO
codes of practice
The practical recommendations of ILO codes of practice are intended for the
use of all those, both in the public and private sectors, who have responsibility
for safety and health management in relation to specific occupational hazards,
sectors of activity, or equipment. Codes of practice are not intended to replace
national laws or regulations or accepted standards. They are drawn up with the
objective of providing guidance to those who may be engaged, through social dialogue,
in the framing of provisions of this kind or to elaborate programmes of prevention
or protection at the national or enterprise levels. They are addressed in particular
to governmental and public authorities, employers and workers and their organizations
as well as management and safety and health committees in related enterprises.
Codes of practice are primarily designed as a basis for prevention and protective
measures and are considered as ILO technical standards in occupational safety
and health. They contain general principles and specific guidance which concern
in particular the surveillance of the working environment and of workers' health;
education and training; record-keeping; the role and duties of the competent authority,
employers, workers, manufacturers and suppliers; and consultation and cooperation.
Purpose of the Meeting
The Meeting considered and reviewed a draft and adopted a code of practice
on safety and health in the non-ferrous metals industries. The Report
of the discussion - pdf, 64k, is available online.
 Code
of practice
The new Code of Practice provides workers, employers and governments with global
guidelines - based on international labour standards and established best practice
- for addressing specific occupational hazards.
The new code focuses on foundries and on the production of primary non-ferrous
metals, including from recycled material. It does not deal with mining, nor does
it address the fabrication of commercial products made from non-ferrous metals.
It is a code of practice that deals with the production of metal in bulk.
The code starts by setting out the general principles of prevention and protection,
including the duties of regulatory authorities, employers and workers. This part
covers a range of topics, including risk assessment, risk management, training
and workplace and health surveillance.
The core of the code identifies and examines a range of physical hazards that
are commonly encountered during the production of non-ferrous metals. These include
noise, vibration, heat stress, radiation, confined spaces, dust and chemicals.
Separate chapters deal with furnaces, molten metal, alloys and recycling.
The non-ferrous metals industry is diverse and is expanding. Increasingly sophisticated
products are being produced using an array of chemicals and treatment processes
in the smelting, refining and finishing stages. Recycling, including the separation
of complex compound materials, is growing in importance for economic, environmental
and sustainable development reasons.
This new code of practice provides practical guidelines for ensuring that the
safety and health of all those involved in non-ferrous metals production, in large
and small enterprises, is afforded the highest priority.
The code of practice, Safety and health in the
non-ferrous metals industries (2003) - pdf, 1.2MB, is available online.
It is also available in French
- pdf, 1.2MB, and Spanish
- pdf, 1.2MB. It can also be obtained from the ILO's
Publications Department.
Contact address for more information
Mr. Martin Georg Hahn
Sectoral Activities Branch,
International Labour Office,
4 route des Morillons,
CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland
Tel. +41.22 799 8772; Fax. +41 22 799 7967
E-mail: hahn@ilo.org or sector@ilo.org
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