Council Directive 98/24/ECShow full title

Article 10 U.K. Health surveillance

1. Without prejudice to Article 14 of Directive 89/391/EEC, Member States shall introduce arrangements for carrying out appropriate health surveillance of workers for whom the results of the assessment referred to in Article 4 of this Directive reveal a risk to health. These arrangements, including the requirements specified for health and exposure records and their availability, shall be introduced in accordance with national laws and/or practice.

Health surveillance, the results of which shall be taken into account in applying preventive measures in the specific workplace, shall be appropriate where:

• the exposure of the worker to a hazardous chemical agent is such that an identifiable disease or adverse health effect may be related to the exposure, and

• there is a likelihood that the disease or effect may occur under the particular conditions of the worker's work, and

• the technique of investigation is of low risk to workers.

Furthermore, there shall be valid techniques for detecting indications of the disease or effect.

Where a binding biological limit value has been set as indicated in Annex II, health surveillance shall be a compulsory requirement for work with the hazardous chemical agent in question, in accordance with the procedures in that Annex. Workers shall be informed of this requirement before being assigned to the task involving risk of exposure to the hazardous chemical agent indicated.

2. Member States shall establish arrangements to ensure that for each worker who undergoes health surveillance in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 1, individual health and exposure records are made and kept up-to-date.

3. Health and exposure records shall contain a summary of the results of health surveillance carried out and of any monitoring data representative of the exposure of the individual. Biological monitoring and related requirements may form part of health surveillance.

Health and exposure records shall be kept in a suitable form so as to permit consultation at a later date, taking into account any confidentiality.

Copies of the appropriate records shall be supplied to the competent authority on request. The individual worker shall, at his request, have access to the health and exposure records relating to him personally.

Where an undertaking ceases to trade, the health and exposure records shall be made available to the competent authority.

4. Where, as a result of health surveillance:

• a worker is found to have an identifiable disease or adverse health effect which is considered by a doctor or occupational health-care professional to be the result of exposure at work to a hazardous chemical agent, or

• a binding biological limit value is found to have been exceeded,

the worker shall be informed by the doctor or other suitably qualified person of the result which relates to him personally, including information and advice regarding any health surveillance which he should undergo following the end of the exposure, and

the employer shall:

• review the risk assessment made pursuant to Article 4(1),

• review the measures provided to eliminate or reduce risks pursuant to Articles 5 and 6,

• take into account the advice of the occupational health-care professional or other suitably qualified person or the competent authority in implementing any measures required to eliminate or reduce risk in accordance with Article 6, including the possibility of assigning the worker to alternative work where there is no risk of further exposure, and

• arrange continued health surveillance and provide for a review of the health status of any other worker who has been similarly exposed. In such cases the competent doctor or occupational health-care professional or the competent authority may propose that exposed persons undergo a medical examination.