Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139) - Finland (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee notes the information provided, including reference to legislative developments since the last report. The Committee further notes the comments from the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) and the Finnish Construction Trade Union, included in the Government’s report.

Article 1(1) and (3) of the Convention. List of carcinogenic substances and agents. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information that Finnish legislation on the prevention of work-related cancer risks covers only categories 1 and 2 of the EU classification of carcinogenic substances and agents, but not those attended by less evidence of the cancer risks they pose to humans; that the scope of Finnish legislation and responsibility to register also covers exposure to agents classified as carcinogenic by the EU, such as environmental tobacco smoke and hardwood dust; that legislation on occupational disease compensation covers for example the risk of lung cancer caused by crystalline silica, although the EU has not classified this as a carcinogenic substance; that Finland complies with EU legislation on the classification of carcinogenic substances and agents; and that it complies with the interpretation of the carcinogenicity of substances and agents by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The Committee also notes the comments from SAK that, in their view, ethylene trichloride and formaldehyde should be included in the list of carcinogenic substances, that the Finnish Construction Trade Union considers that creosote and mould should be viewed in the same way as asbestos, and that quartz dust should be included in the list of carcinogenic substances and agents. Noting that the Government does not address the SAK comments in its report, the Committee asks the Government to respond thereto in its next report.

Article 2. Carcinogenic substances and agents replaced by non-carcinogenic or less carcinogenic ones. The Committee notes with interest the information for the developments in the period 2002–07 regarding the decreasing number of persons exposed to the following substances: asbestos (from 1,894 to 1,298); tobacco smoke (from 12,317 to 7,047); carbon tetrachloride (from 287 to 66); 1.4-dioxane (from 177 to 83); amitroles (from 112 to three); dieldrin (from 119 to seven); and lindane (from 131 to nine), that the number of persons exposed to vinyl chloride and ethylene oxide have also decreased, that the exclusion of copper-chrome-arsenic salts used in wood preservatives from the EU market in the autumn of 2007 has reduced the number of workers exposed to chrome and arsenic, but that some enterprises use creosote as a wood preservative causing workers to be exposed to poly aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds. The Committee also notes that, in the glass industry, arsenic oxides classified as carcinogenic have been replaced with less carcinogenic antimony compounds. The Committee requests the Government to continue reporting on further developments in this respect.

Article 3. Protection of workers and registration of workers exposed to carcinogenic substances and agents. The Committee notes the information provided regarding the register of workers at risk of exposure to carcinogenic substances and processes (ASA register), and that following the required pre-employment medical examinations, including the provision of information on the potential health hazards in the workplace and on risk prevention, workers exposed to carcinogenic substances for at least 20 days are added to this register. As regards environmental tobacco smoke, the registration criterion is a minimum of 40 workdays per year of exposure. However, workers exposed to unusually high doses of carcinogenic factors in a short period of time as a result of an accident, production error, unusual work process, or other corresponding reason, must always be added to the register. The Committee also notes the statement that, while Finland complies with EU legislation on the classification of carcinogenic substances and agents, and with the interpretation of the carcinogenicity of substances and agents by the IARC, a more restrictive list is used for the purposes of this ASA register, and that a registration system based on the Finnish list would require a multifold commitment in comparison to the current situation and cannot be regarded as providing any corresponding advantages to OSH activity. The Committee further notes the statement of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health that work-related cancers may be prevented through more efficient steering of risk assessment resources and targeted reduction of exposure in connection with high-risk tasks. The Committee notes the absence of information on how the more restrictive list used for the purposes of the ASA register is developed and the criteria used for selecting the substances and agents the exposure to which will trigger registration. The Committee also notes the issue raised by SAK in that the registration system and organization of statutory occupation health-care services for exposed workers in irregular employment is a concern, because, if statutory periodic medical examinations are not performed, workers are ineligible for compensation. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on how the list of substances relevant for the ASA register is established and to respond to SAK’s concerns in its next report.

Article 6(c). National legislation and labour inspection. The Committee notes that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health’s occupational safety and health manual for 2010 has been published and that the Department of Occupational Safety and Health is currently preparing a manual for inspectors on the surveillance of chemicals in the workplace. The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of the manual for inspectors once it has been adopted.

Part IV of the report form. Application in practice. The Government notes the brief statistical information provided by the Government concerning the decreasing number of persons added to the ASA register: from 28,028 in 2005 (of which 40 per cent were women) to 23,346 in 2007 (of which 34 per cent were women). The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide relevant statistical information on the application of the Convention in practice.