Chemical Safety in Asia: Law and PracticePreface |
Chemicals are considered as basic ingredients for an improved quality of life. Their use in the forms of pesticides and fertilizers boost food production which contributes to the combat of famine worldwide. Their use in chemotherapy brings hope in the fight against cancer and their role in new drugs relieves millions of patients. Industrially, carbon fibres have been crucial to the manufacture of lightweight materials. Likewise ceramic fibres substitute for the more hazardous asbestos.
The world's annual production of chemicals is an estimated 400 million tonnes. Of the six to seven million chemical substances known in industry and scientific research, close to 70,000 were produced for regular use in the industrial sectors, agriculture and service. Of this number only a few thousands are produced in substantial quantities for industrial use. Of the chemicals which are marketed, 5-10 % are considered hazardous, of which 150-200 chemicals are known carcinogens.
At the European Community (EC) level, approximately 2000 substances are on the List of Dangerous Substances. In the United States, 2000-3000 substances are notified each year under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TOSCA) of 1976.
Chemicals, moreover, can be hazardous if improperly used. Toxic chemicals include asphyxiants, irritants, narcotics, systemic poisons, carcinogens, teratogens (affecting offsprings), mutagens (affecting genes) and chemicals with dermatological effects. Chemicals also include flammable and explosive substances which have the potential of causing industrial disasters with subsequent dramatic effects on the workers, the public and the environment.
However, chemicals are here to stay. We must learn how to live with them safely. In this regard, chemical safety has been given a high priority in the core programme of the ILO on working conditions and environment. Chemical safety has been identified by member States as one of the major issues of this decade.
The ILO Action Programme on Safety in the Use of Chemicals at Work (1996-97) was designed to contribute to the overall implementation of the occupational safety and health programme through action aimed at controlling the health effects of toxic chemicals and wastes and the danger of fires and explosions. It is implemented as a contribution from the ILO to the goals defined by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Chapter 19 of Agenda 21 on environmentally sound management of chemicals and the relevant recommendations of the Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety. Its objective is the design and implementation of national programmes for the environmentally sound management of hazardous chemicals and their waste at work.
This publication is intended to review, in a summary form, the law and practice in the field of occupational safety and health in general, and in chemical safety in particular in a selected number of Asian countries. Also included in the review is a number of employers' and workers' organizations in some of these countries.
Although these countries and organizations come from different regions, namely West Asia, South Asia, South East Asia and China, there is a lot in common between them to warrant the development of cooperating mechanisms in occupational and chemical safety and health. A number of these countries speak the same language and share the same culture, as well as religious and ethnic backgrounds. The majority enjoy similar climatic conditions which dictate a number of influencing factors on the working conditions in general. In addition, the countries come from regions which are characterized by a rapid economic development and growth, and some rely heavily on the labour force of the other. The exchange of views, experiences and information sharing between these countries in occupational safety and health is not only useful, but essential in a world which is becoming increasingly globalized. This approach is intended to strengthen the chemical safety capabilities at the national level and to promote inter-regional cooperation.
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