09 Nov Guidance: RCS on construction sites
The European Commission’s Senior Labour Inspectors’ Committee (SLIC) launched its Guidance for National Labour Inspectors on Thursday 27 October 2016 in The Hague, the Netherlands. Its purpose is to help Labour Inspectors address the risks workers face when they are exposed to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) on construction sites.
RCS is widely encountered in workplaces in EU countries across a number of industry sectors and is known to cause serious illnesses such as silicosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and lung cancer. Construction work is the focus of this guidance document due to its widespread presence across Europe and because of the high risks in terms of potential for exposure and the large number of workers potentially exposed.
The guide provides national labour inspectors with background information on RCS, health risks, regulatory framework and control measures and a number of RCS task sheets. Possible actions are recommended where a potential high, medium or low RCS health risk may be encountered depending on the extent and level of controls implemented by the employer at the time of inspection.
Read the Press Release
Download the Guidance