Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Benzene Convention, 1971 (No. 136) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1977)

1. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report according to which the Environmental Directorate of the Ministry of Hydrocarbons is a government body responsible for ensuring the adoption of measures to prevent the risk of exposure to benzene. It also notes the adoption of Supreme Decree No. 26171 of 4 May 2001, supplementing the Environmental Regulations for the hydrocarbon sector issued by Supreme Decree No. 24335 of 19 July 1996. The Committee notes that the new Decree covers activities and factors liable to affect the environment in general, that is to contaminate the air, water in all its states, soil and subsoil, in excess of the permissible limits established, but that it does not contain measures respecting the protection of workers against risks of poisoning deriving from their exposure to benzene. The Committee notes that this report does not contain sufficient information in reply to its previous comments and recalls that from its first comments in the 1980s the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the necessity to adopt measures to give effect to many substantive provisions of the Convention, in accordance with Article 14 of the Convention. The Committee notes that such measures have not been adopted and urges the Government to ensure that they are adopted in the near future by the competent authorities, including the government body referred to above, in relation to the following provisions of the Convention: Article 1(b) (adoption of protective measures in relation to products the benzene content of which exceeds 1 per cent by volume); Article 2 (use of harmless or less harmful substitute products); Article 4, paragraphs 1 and 2 (prohibition of the use of benzene and products containing benzene as a solvent or diluent in certain work processes, except where the process is carried out in an enclosed system or where there are other equally safe methods of work); Article 6, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 (measures taken to prevent the exposure of workers to benzene; to ensure that, in any case, workers are not exposed to a concentration of benzene in the air exceeding a ceiling value of 25 parts per million; and to issue directions on carrying out the measurement of the concentration of benzene in the air of places of work); Article 7, paragraph 1 (the carrying out of work processes involving the use of benzene or of products containing benzene in an enclosed system); and Article 11, paragraphs 1 and 2 (prohibition to employ pregnant women, nursing mothers and young persons under 18 years of age in work processes involving exposure to benzene or products containing benzene).

2. Article 9. Pre-employment and subsequent medical examinations. The Committee refers to its previous comments concerning draft regulations respecting medical services covering, among other matters, the need to perform medical examinations prior to employment and during and after employment. As its latest report does not contain information in this respect, the Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report whether, in the meantime, the above regulations respecting medical services have been adopted and, if so, it requests the Government to indicate whether the provisions contained in the draft regulations have been established in such a manner as to ensure that medical examinations are carried out taking into account this Article of the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of the above text.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2007.]