Chemical Safety in Asia: Law and PracticeChapter 2Role of the ILO in Chemical Safety |
The adoption of the Chemicals Convention ( 70) and its accompanying Recommendation ( 177) by the International Labour Conference (ILC) in 1990, along with the entry of the Convention into force in 1992, paved the ground for the establishment of future activities and the reaffirmation of the ILO mandate in this field. The provisions of the Chemicals Convention were translated into practical guidance in the form of a Code of Practice and a training manual on safety in the use of chemicals at work. The Office has also developed approaches and techniques through the delivery of national and regional training seminars and symposia in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia including the Middle East. Technical cooperation projects helped to establish and strengthen national capacities in the area of chemical safety information in more than 40 African and Asian countries.
Within the framework of the activities in chemical safety, the work developed in the field of the prevention of major industrial accidents culminated in the adoption by the ILC of the Convention concerning the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents ( 174) and its accompanying Recommendation ( 181) in 1993. In this area, technical cooperation projects were developed to establish major hazard control systems in Asia. A number of training seminars were held in Europe and Asia, including the Middle East and the ILO was requested to provide technical advisory services following major industrial accidents in Senegal and Thailand. Instrumental to these activities was the Code of Practice on the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents and the Manual on Major Hazard Control.
Implementation of the Technical Safety Programme
The chemical safety programme constitutes a major component for action in the overall efforts to improve working conditions and environment. In particular, chemical safety features in a number of activities aimed at strengthening tripartite safety and health institutions particularly national safety councils. Activities in chemical safety are part of the efforts aimed at promoting national action for accident prevention.
Within the framework of the active partnership policy, the implementation of the chemical safety programme is carried out under the following subprogramme elements:
- promotion of ILO standards and instruments relating to chemical safety;
- action to promote chemical safety;
- cooperation with the UN and other agencies.
Promotion of ILO Standards and Instruments Relating to Chemical Safety
The activities undertaken in this area emphasize the promotion of the main international labour standards relating to chemical safety, namely the Chemicals Convention ( 170), 1990 and the Convention concerning the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents ( 174), 1993 and their accompanying Recommendations (refer to Chapter 3 for a more detailed discussion). The promotion of these instruments is linked with action-oriented activities with a view to responding to needs at the national level, with particular focus at the enterprise level, including the extension of protection of workers engaged in hazardous occupations. At the national level, emphasis is placed on the strengthening and upgrading of the capacity of member States to improve safety in the use of chemicals. Efforts are also aimed at providing guidance and assistance to governments in the design and implementation of their chemical safety programmes. Support is also provided to employers' and workers' organizations through enhancing their training capabilities and addressing their concerns. Work on the promotion of ILO standards and instruments relating to chemical safety is implemented through:
(a) the organization of standards' promotion seminars, workshops and training activities at the national and regional levels;
(b) consultancy missions aimed at advising, strengthening and upgrading national capabilities in the implementation of the provisions of the relevant instrument;
(c) the cooperation with the UN and other agencies in the field of harmonizing the provisions of ILO instruments with those of other instruments;
(d) the integration with, and the extension of services to other units within the Office for the purpose of promoting the instruments.
Action to Promote Chemical Safety
Activities to promote chemical safety based on the provisions of ILO instruments is a subprogramme which focuses on practical guidance to programmes at the enterprise level and the reduction of workers' exposure to chemicals including the protection of the general public and the environment. This subprogramme is implemented through the:
(a) preparation of reviews and technical guidance notes for practical application at enterprise level;
(b) provision of technical advisory services to government agencies such as safety and health inspectorates and other bodies including national safety councils and to employers' and workers' organizations;
(c) organization of training activities in chemical safety at the national and regional levels;
(d) preparation of technical publications within the Office for the purpose of providing reference material;
(e) development of technical cooperation activities with a view to strengthening institutions and upgrading national and regional capabilities.
Sectoral Meetings on the Chemical Industries
Between 1948 and 1997, an established tripartite ILO committee, composed of representatives from governments, employers' and workers' organizations from the major chemical-producing countries, met regularly to review in a systematic way a range of labour issues affecting those who work in this sector. The documents prepared for these sessions and the conclusions and resolutions adopted as a result of the meetings' deliberations contain a wealth of information about what a cross-section of the industry considered good practice not only in matters of occupational safety and health but also in training, industrial relations, wage policy, workings hours and other topics. Recommendations of these meetings differ from ILO Conventions in that they are not binding. Their value stems from the consensus of the industry that they embody and from their greater flexibility, compared to Conventions, which allows them to be modified in the face of changing conditions.
The most recent session dealt with the subject of "The implications of structural change for employment and training in the chemical industries". There was also a general discussion on the role of the ILO's tripartite constituents (governments, employers and workers) in organized international efforts to promote chemical safety. Among the work items, which the meeting called upon the ILO to carry out in the future, were several related to safety, health and the environment or to the Responsible Care programme in particular. A recent review of the ILO's sectoral activities decided that the chemical industries would continue to receive regular attention through tripartite meetings and related studies and follow-up activities.
Cooperation with the UN and Other Agencies
Given its unique tripartite structure, the ILO occupies a crucial position at the international level. It continues to play a leading role among the UN and other agencies in the general programme on chemical safety, having maintained a high quality caliber of competence and expertise in this field. Such a role has been re-affirmed within the framework of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). In order to maintain such status, the ILO continues to effectively coordinate its work with the work of others within the United Nations system.
International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS)
The IPCS is a joint programme which was established by the WHO, ILO and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) in 1980 to implement a number of key chemical safety activities, primarily the evaluation of the effects of chemicals on health and the environment; information which is essential to the safety and health of workers, the general public and the environment. It consists of a central Unit which is located in the WHO, an Inter-secretariat Coordinating Committee (ICC) and a Programme Advisory Committee (PAC) in which an employers' and workers' representative, named by the Governing Body
of the ILO, participate. The ILO's input in the work of the IPCS consists of the following main items:
(a) review of technical publications (Environmental Health Criteria, Health and Safety Guides, etc.);
(b) participation in the ICC and the PAC meetings,
(c) management of the IPCS International Chemical Safety Cards Project;
(d) participation in the production and dissemination of chemical safety information by electronic means (CD-ROM, Internet).
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)
The UNCED, held in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, endorsed the work of the four sessions of its Preparatory Committee and gave rise to Agenda 21, an action plan for developing the planet sustainably through the 21st century. Chapter 19 of Agenda 21 addresses the Environmentally Sound Management of Toxic Chemicals including the Prevention of Illegal International Traffic in Toxic and Dangerous Products. Two essential problems were recognized in this chapter: (i) the lack of sufficient scientific information for the assessment of risks entailed by the use of a great number of chemicals and (ii) lack of resources for assessing chemicals for which data are at hand. Chapter 19 states that "collaboration on chemical safety between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) should be the nucleus for international cooperation on environmentally sound management of toxic chemicals" and that "cooperation with other programmes such as those of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Communities and other regional and governmental chemical programmes should be promoted". Six programme areas were identified in Chapter 19 as being necessary areas in which to establish and strengthen activities. These are:
(a) expanding and accelerating international assessment of chemical risks;
(b) harmonization of classification and labelling of chemicals;
(c) information exchange on toxic chemicals and chemical risks;
(d) establishment of risk reduction programmes;
(e) strengthening of national capabilities and capacities for management of chemicals;
(f) prevention of illegal international traffic in toxic and dangerous products.
The very significant input of the ILO in the drafting of the UNCED Agenda 21, Chapter 19 on Environmentally Sound Management of Toxic Chemicals was instrumental in ensuring that the tripartite approach to chemical safety was recognized, particularly in the areas of classification and labelling of chemicals and chemical hazard communication and training. In January 1992, a Coordinating Group for the harmonization of chemical classification systems, based on work initiated BY the ILO in 1990, was established within the IPCS, with the ILO providing the secretariat for the Group. This Group includes representatives from national, regional and international bodies, as well as representatives from employers' and workers' organizations and non-governmental organizations concerned with public and environmental protection. Under the leadership of the ILO, and based on its reports on the Size of the Task of Harmonizing Existing Systems of Classification and Labelling for Hazardous Chemicals issued in November 1992, the Group has elaborated terms of reference and work plans to establish a globally harmonized system by the year 2000 and has started the necessary technical work. The Office accepted to lead the task of harmonizing classification criteria for physical hazards of chemicals and has already issued a report on the subject which will serve as a basis for further action in the next biennium. Within the framework of its activities which are related to UNCED, the ILO is also involved with the work of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and the Interagency Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD).
New frameworks for interagency cooperation on chemical safety
Acting upon UNCED's recommendations, the ILO has played a key role in the ongoing elaboration of a new basis for expanded and strengthened interagency cooperation in chemical safety. The founding organizations cooperating presently in the IPCS, namely the ILO, WHO and UNEP, organized an International Conference of Chemical Safety (ICCS) which was hosted by Sweden in Stockholm in April 1994, as recommended by UNCED. The ILO contributed to preparing this meeting by being very active in the drafting of key conference documents, by hosting a preparatory consultation in December 1993 and providing part of the Conference secretariat. During its session, the ICCS established itself as the Registrar of the International Forum on Chemical Safety with a mandate to advise international organizations and coordinate action at the national level aimed at implementing the Recommendation of UNCED. Similarly, and in order to strengthen inter-organization cooperation, the WHO, ILO, UNEP, FAO, UNIDO and OECD signed, in March 1995, a Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Inter-organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC).
The impact of the ILO on the IOMC includes the participation in its Inter-organization Coordinating Committee and the preparation of work plans and documents for the IFCS. The ILO also manages the harmonization of systems of classification and labelling of chemicals within the IOMC.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
In collaboration with UNEP, the ILO has been carrying out a series of activities in the field of chemical safety as well as in the general area of training. Since well-managed safety and health programmes can make an important contribution to the protection of the general environment, collaboration with UNEP has been further strengthened. In the field of chemical safety, activities with UNEP are conducted under the following headings:
(a) implementation of the London Guidelines for the Exchange of Information on Chemicals in International Trade;
(b) work on the Legally Binding Instrument on the Mandatory Application of the Prior Informed Consent Procedure;
(c) the development of the Code of Ethics on Safety in International Trade in Chemicals;
(d) the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal;
(e) the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer;
(f) the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer;
(g) United Nations Centre for Urgent Environmental Assistance (UNCUEA);
(h) UNEP Industry and Environment Office.
World Health Organization (WHO)
In the field of chemical safety, the ILO collaboration with WHO continues with the Programme on Chemical Safety and with their Environmental Health Department.
Other organizations
Ongoing work in the field of chemical safety involves continuous collaboration with the following:
- Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)/United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNCETDG);
- Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD);
- Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW); and
- United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
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