The dangers that lead brings to human health have been known for decades. Although metal is no longer used in our pipes and oil, it is still common and key to our modern world.<\/p>\n
Europe uses millions of tons of lead each year to insulate car batteries, high-voltage cables and energy-saving buildings. So what happens when lead-containing products end their useful life?<\/p>\n
the Kampin Camp<\/strong>Europe is one of \u2019's largest leading recycling companies. Every year, the company re-evaluates large quantities of metal at its facilities in \u2019, Belgium and France.<\/p>\n Campine CEO Willem De Vos said in a statement to Euronews\u2019e at the company's headquarters in \u2019, northern Belgium, that \u2019 is recycling scrap containing about 90,000-95,000 tons of lead.<\/p>\n De Vos explained that most of the recycled lead products are car batteries, with around 10,000 units recycled per day at the plant.<\/p>\n The camp plays a vital role in reducing lead waste. Exposure to lead-contaminated soil and water near industrial landfills can lead to lead poisoning, which can be harmful, especially if exposed to young children.<\/p>\n De Vos, \u201cIf we hadn't recycled these batteries, they would have gone somewhere in the dumpster, which is definitely not a good thing. Meanwhile, the industry needs lead, so we'll have to get it from mines in or outside Europe\u2019, which again isn't good for the environment, \u201d added.<\/p>\n Recycling lead: The Catch-22<\/b><\/p>\n Almost all parts of the lead-acid battery can be recycled, but lead can be released at any stage of the recycling process. While recycling lead is important to meet the global demand for refined lead metal, recycling metal can be a dangerous business and poses open environmental and health risks.<\/p>\n As a result, Campine adheres to strict safety protocols to ensure the safety of its staff. Employees are required to wear protective equipment as well as comply with clear guidelines. They also need to do regular blood tests to monitor the concentration of lead in the blood.<\/p>\n Campine\u2019's lead exposure limits are well below AB\u2019's current standards, but the new rules mean it should go even further.<\/p>\n The new legislation will require employers in the sector to limit their lead concentration to only 15 micrograms per 100 milliliters of blood from 2026\u2019, bringing the occupational exposure limit to one-fifth of the current level.<\/p>\n \u201cThe effects of lead on health have long been known. But we now have more data to show that these health effects also occur and occur at lower levels of exposure. So we need to lower these levels to prevent chronic disorders, such as cancer, for example.\u201d Lode Godderis<\/strong>KU Leuven-IDEWE Professor of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology Euronews\u2019e said:<\/p>\n Current preventive measures<\/b><\/p>\n Employers in AB\u2019 are required to take the necessary measures as specified in the European Union Regulation \u2019 to prevent or reduce exposure to harmful chemicals. Regulation, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of the Chemicals Authority (REACH).<\/strong><\/p>\n This regulation replaced many European directives and regulations with a single system in 2007. REACH aims to increase the competitiveness of the EU chemical industry and allow free movement of substances in the EU market. It also provides strict guidelines for environments where hazardous chemicals can be used.<\/p>\n Better ventilation, alternating work tasks, personal protective equipment and adequate safety procedures are encouraged. To minimize health risks, pregnant employees who are at risk of exposure should be allowed to change roles during pregnancy.<\/p>\n For example, in \u2019, Finland, a statute of the Health Insurance Act of \u2019 guarantees that pregnant persons have the right to special maternity leave and the right to receive allowances by the Social Insurance Institution in the event that safe work cannot be achieved.<\/p>\n If a role requires exposure to a list of agents thought to be harmful or requires a level of exposure that could pose a danger to reproductive health, then the role is not considered safe.<\/p>\n What do the new rules mean for employees?<\/b><\/p>\n Workers' representatives welcome the new rules, but insist they must be implemented throughout the bloc.<\/p>\n Claes-Mikael St\u00e5hl, Deputy Secretary General the European Trade Union Confederation<\/strong>Euronews\u2019e said functional union representatives, labour inspectors and guidelines are needed to ensure that rules are enforced in workplaces. Ensuring these rules are applied equally across Europe is a challenge, \u201c said.<\/p>\n In addition to lead, Europe has also taken action for the first time to limit exposure to a class of chemical compounds called diisocyanates, which are known to cause respiratory ailments such as asthma.<\/p>\n Exposure to other carcinogenic chemicals also remains a health risk. For example, benzene is widely used in the petrochemical industry, but European Agency for Safety and Health at Work<\/strong>reported bad effects after prolonged exposure; Women exposed to benzene reported fetal loss, decreased fertility, and low birth weight.<\/p>\n In the iron and steel industry, welding is known to release fumes containing harmful chemicals such as nickel, chromium, cadmium and carbon monoxide. Under the new EU guidelines, exposure limits to nickel, chromium and cadmium have all been reduced.<\/p>\n Nikolaj Villumsen, a member of the European Parliament, told Euronews\u2019e that the changes are important: \u201c, we're talking about saving people's lives. Fewer workers will get sick on the way to work. Fewer workers will die. - \u201d<\/p>\n But Villumsen also stressed that he didn't think the new values went far enough. \u201cIf you ask me, or if you ask the majority in parliament, no. But these are still important developments for workers, \u201d said.<\/p>\n The European Parliament member added that thanks to the review clause in the legislation, the new limits will be re-evaluated within five years, thus allowing time for the assessment of additional harmful effects on new technologies and subsequent changes.<\/p>\n Villumsen briefly said: \u201cBecause of the green transition, more workers will be exposed to these dangerous substances. For this reason, it is very important to ensure that workers are better protected, that those who are part of the green transition, that workers who do this in the field, do not lose their lives or get sick due to their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n After its entry into force, the 27 Member States must apply the new European \u2019 chemistry rules to national laws within two years.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Brussels is revising limit values on lead exposure in the workplace for the first time in 40 years, and also introducing new rules for a class of chemical compounds called diisocyanates. Will these new measures ensure the safety of workers?<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[282,94,573,76,722],"class_list":["post-2744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-genel","tag-are","tag-avrupa","tag-irade","tag-is","tag-saglik"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lojistiknakliye.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lojistiknakliye.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lojistiknakliye.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lojistiknakliye.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lojistiknakliye.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lojistiknakliye.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2744\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lojistiknakliye.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lojistiknakliye.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lojistiknakliye.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}