Directive 2002/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2002 on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (vibration) (sixteenth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)

• Published date: 06 July 2002
• Subject Matter: dispositions sociales,Marché intérieur - Principes,sécurité des travailleurs et de la population,disposiciones sociales,Mercado interior - Principios,seguridad de los trabajadores y de la población,disposizioni sociali,Mercato interno - Principi,sicurezza dei lavoratori e della popolazione
• Official Gazette Publication: Journal officiel des Communautés européennes, L 177, 06 juillet 2002,Diario Oficial de las Comunidades Europeas, L 177, 06 de julio de 2002,Gazzetta ufficiale delle Comunità europee, L 177, 06 luglio 2002

2002L0044 — EN — 11.12.2008 — 002.001

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This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents

►B DIRECTIVE 2002/44/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 June 2002 on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (vibration) (sixteenth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) (OJ L 177, 6.7.2002, p.13)

Amended by:

		Official Journal
		No	page	date
►M1	DIRECTIVE 2007/30/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL Text with EEA relevance of 20 June 2007	L 165	21	27.6.2007
►M2	REGULATION (EC) No 1137/2008 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 22 October 2008	L 311	1	21.11.2008

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▼B

DIRECTIVE 2002/44/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 25 June 2002

on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (vibration) (sixteenth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 137(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ( 1 ), submitted after consultation with the Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ( 2 ),

Having consulted the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty ( 3 ), in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 8 April 2002,

Whereas:

(1) Under the Treaty the Council may, by means of directives, adopt minimum requirements for encouraging improvements, especially in the working environment, to guarantee a better level of protection of the health and safety of workers. Such directives are to avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium-sized undertakings.

(2) The communication from the Commission concerning its action programme relating to the implementation of the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers provides for the introduction of minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks caused by physical agents. In September 1990 the European Parliament adopted a resolution concerning this action programme ( 4 ), inviting the Commission in particular to draw up a specific directive on the risks caused by noise and vibration and by any other physical agent at the workplace.

(3) As a first step, it is considered necessary to introduce measures protecting workers from the risks arising from vibrations owing to their effects on the health and safety of workers, in particular muscular/bone structure, neurological and vascular disorders. These measures are intended not only to ensure the health and safety of each worker on an individual basis, but also to create a minimum basis of protection for all Community workers in order to avoid possible distortions of competition.

(4) This Directive lays down minimum requirements, thus giving Member States the option of maintaining or adopting more favourable provisions for the protection of workers, in particular the fixing of lower values for the daily action value or the daily exposure limit value for vibrations. The implementation of this Directive should not serve to justify any regression in relation to the situation which already prevails in each Member State.

(5) A system of protection against vibration must limit itself to a definition, free of excessive detail, of the objectives to be attained, the principles to be observed and the fundamental values to be used, in order to enable Member States to apply the minimum requirements in an equivalent manner.

(6) The level of exposure to vibration can be more effectively reduced by incorporating preventive measures into the design of work stations and places of work and by selecting work equipment, procedures and methods so as to give priority to reducing the risks at source. Provisions relating to work equipment and methods thus contribute to the protection of the workers involved.

(7) Employers should make adjustments in the light of technical progress and scientific knowledge regarding risks related to exposure to vibration, with a view to improving the safety and health protection of workers.

(8) In the case of sea and air transport, given the current state of the art it is not possible to comply in all circumstances with the exposure limit values for whole-body vibration; provision should therefore be made for duly justified exemptions in some cases.

(9) Since this Directive is an individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work ( 5 ), that Directive therefore applies to the exposure of workers to vibration, without prejudice to more stringent and/or specific provisions contained in this Directive.

(10) This Directive constitutes a practical step towards creating the social dimension of the internal market.

(11) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission ( 6 ),

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

SECTION I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Aim and scope

1. This Directive, which is the 16th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC, lays down minimum requirements for the protection of workers from risks to their health and safety arising or likely to arise from exposure to mechanical vibration.

2. The requirements of this Directive shall apply to activities in which workers are or are likely to be exposed to risks from mechanical vibration during their work.

3. Directive 89/391/EEC shall apply fully to the whole area referred to in paragraph 1, without prejudice to more stringent and/or more specific provisions contained in this Directive.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive, the following terms shall mean:

(a) ‘hand-arm vibration’: the mechanical vibration that, when transmitted to the human hand-arm system, entails risks to the health and safety of workers, in particular vascular, bone or joint, neurological or muscular disorders;

(b) ‘whole-body vibration’: the mechanical vibration that, when transmitted to the whole body, entails risks to the health and safety of workers, in particular lower-back morbidity and trauma of the spine.

Article 3

Exposure limit values and action values

1. For hand-arm vibration:

(a) the daily exposure limit value standardised to an eight-hour reference period shall be 5 m/s2;

(b) the daily exposure action value standardised to an eight-hour reference period shall be 2,5 m/s2.

Workers' exposure to hand-arm vibration shall be assessed or measured on the basis of the provisions of Point 1 of Part A of the Annex.

2. For whole-body vibration:

(a) the daily exposure limit value standardised to an eight-hour reference period shall be 1,15 m/s2 or, at the choice of the Member State concerned, a vibration dose value of 21 m/s1,75;

(b) the daily exposure action value standardised to an eight-hour reference period shall be 0,5 m/s2 or, at the choice of the Member State concerned, a vibration dose value of 9,1 m/s1,75.

Workers' exposure to whole-body vibration shall be assessed or measured on the basis of the provisions of Point 1 of Part B of the Annex.

SECTION II

OBLIGATION OF EMPLOYERS

Article 4

Determination and assessment of risks

1. In carrying out the obligations laid down in Article 6(3) and Article 9(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC, the employer shall assess and, if necessary, measure the levels of mechanical vibration to which workers are exposed. Measurement shall be carried out in accordance with Point 2 of Part A or Point 2 of Part B of the Annex to this Directive, as appropriate.

2. The level of exposure to mechanical vibration may be assessed by means of observation of specific working practices and reference to relevant information on the probable magnitude of the vibration corresponding to the equipment or the types of equipment used in the particular conditions of use, including such information provided by the manufacturer of the equipment. That operation shall be distinguished from measurement, which requires the use of specific apparatus and appropriate methodology.

3. The assessment and measurement referred to in paragraph 1 shall be planned and carried out by competent services at suitable intervals, taking particular account of the provisions of Article 7 of Directive 89/391/EEC concerning the necessary competent services or persons. The data obtained from the assessment and/or measurement of the level of exposure to mechanical vibration shall be preserved in a suitable form so as to permit consultation at a...