Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Benzene Convention, 1971 (No. 136) - Guinea (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee notes the additional information supplied by the Government concerning the effect given to Article 4(2) of the Convention, namely that enterprises using benzene, which are considered high-risk enterprises, are inspected at least once a month.

Legislation. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any information on the formulation of technical guidelines on harmful, hazardous and carcinogenic products, which had been planned by the Government and referred to in its report of 9 May 2000 with a view to supplementing Order No. 2265/MT/1982 of 9 April 1982 concerning protection against the risks of benzene poisoning. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether or not Order No. 2265/MT/1982 is still in force and if it has been supplemented. It urges the Government to take all the necessary steps to formulate and adopt the technical guidelines enabling full effect to be given to the Convention, and to provide information on all progress made in this respect.

Article 6(2) and (3). Concentration of benzene vapour in the air of places of employment. Measurement of the concentration of benzene. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it will consider the threshold limit value of 0.5 parts per million (ppm) over an average eight-hour period, as recommended by the American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), when drawing up a draft order concerning data sheets on the safety of chemical substances, which it mentioned in its report of 9 May 2000 on the application of the Convention. The Committee urges the Government to take all the necessary steps to draw up and adopt the order concerning data sheets on the safety of chemical substances and encourages it to take measures to bring the ceiling value established by the order into line with the value recommended by the ACGIH, as planned. The Committee once again requests the Government to specify the guidelines issued by the competent authority relating to the procedure for determining the concentration of benzene in the air of places of employment.

Article 8(2). Limiting as far as possible the duration of exposure of workers to concentrations of benzene in the air of places of employment which exceed the maximum established. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the study on limiting the duration of exposure of workers to concentrations of benzene in the air of places of employment which exceed the maximum established has not yet been completed. The Committee requests the Government to take all the necessary steps to complete the abovementioned study and to provide information on the results achieved. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to limit as far as possible the duration of exposure of workers to concentrations of benzene in the air of places of employment which exceed the maximum established, in accordance with Article 6(2) of the Convention.

Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied and to send extracts of inspection reports and information on the number of workers exposed to benzene or to products containing benzene, the number and nature of infringements reported, etc.