Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13) - Sweden (Ratification: 1923)

I. Article 3, paragraph 1 of the Convention. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous direct request. The Government has indicated that the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health has not supervised the way in which women under 50 years of age have been informed of the risks which lead implies to expectant mothers, nor has it verified that women working with lead actually report their pregnancy to the employer. The Government has further indicated that, at the regional level, the Labour Inspectorate keeps these matters under observation in the course of inspection visits and through its regional registers of workers exposed to lead. Finally, the Government has indicated that it was very uncommon for women to be employed for work entailing substantial exposure to lead.

The Committee notes that under sections 40 and 41 of the Lead Ordinance (AFS 1984:12), every female worker under the age of 50 who undergoes periodic supervision shall be informed of the risks, due to exposure to lead, to the foetus in the event of pregnancy and that such workers shall report a confirmed pregnancy to the employer as soon as possible. Furthermore, under section 41, a female worker who is periodically supervised, and who is pregnant or breastfeeding a child and has reported this to the employer, shall not be employed in work involving lead. The Committee notes from the official commentary to these sections that this Ordinance provides a special lower maximum exposure value to lead, recommended by the World Health Organization, for women of childbearing age, to both sexes alike. Furthermore, the official commentary to section 40 states that, in order to minimise the risk of damage to the foetus, it is essential that information on these questions receive the closest attention in the undertakings.

The Committee has, however, noted from information coming from the Council of Europe that medical examinations are no longer provided for women, even if they become pregnant or are nursing, for whom three consecutive blood specimens show lead concentrations in the bloodstream less than 1 micromol/1 because the exposure is so slight in these cases that it does not present any hazard to the health of the embryo and that, accordingly, women who are not still under medical lead supervision do not need to notify the employer of their pregnancy. It was noted that this approach presupposed that lead exposure had not been increased by a change in production or in the working method used at the workplace and, in doubtful cases, renewed blood specimens would be taken.

The commentary on sections 40 and 41 of the Lead Ordinance indicate that the risk to the foetus is greatest in the earliest stage of pregnancy, when the pregnancy may not yet have been confirmed. Lead absorbed by the body is stored, inter alia, in the skeleton and the blood lead content falls only slowly during the months following the interruption of exposure. The commentary concludes that it may, therefore, be important to interrupt exposure a long time before pregnancy can materialise.

In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the Government's explanation that the prohibition of the employment of women in painting work involving the use of white lead had been repealed because the Government considered it to be essential that neither women nor men should be unnecessarily impeded from access to work, and employment prohibitions or special conditions referring to the gender of the employee were only to be considered when work was liable to entail gender-specific hazards. The Committee would note that, under the existing legislation, it would appear that pregnant or nursing women may be employed in work involving the use of white lead since, once the level of lead in their bloodstream is below 1 micromol/1 in three consecutive tests, according to the Government, further medical examinations are no longer provided and, as a consequence, there is no longer a requirement to inform the employer of a pregnancy. Thus, an unexpected change in the lead exposure could occur without the knowledge of the employer or the pregnant or nursing worker who may continue to be employed in work processes involving exposure to lead.

The Committee would recall that Article 3, paragraph 1 prohibits the employment of all females in painting work of an industrial character involving the use of white lead, etc., in order to protect women adequately from the risks due to exposure to lead and, in particular, its effect on their reproductive capacity. The Committee would point out that it is possible to ensure equality of opportunity while still ensuring the application of this Article of the Convention by prohibiting all painting work of an industrial character involving the use of white lead. The use of white lead in painting work has already been prohibited by some countries in the interest of safety and health at work and in the environment, as technically superior and safer pigments now exist. In this regard, the Committee would note that, in its report for the period 1 July 1974 to 30 June 1976, the Government had indicated that, in practice, white lead, sulphate of lead and other products containing these pigments were no longer used for painting purposes.

The Government is requested to provide information in its next report on the number of women actually employed in painting work involving the use of white lead and to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the employment of women in such work is prohibited, in conformity with this Article of the Convention.

II. The Committee notes that the Government has not supplied any statistics concerning lead poisoning among working painters for a number of years, as requested in the report form under Article 7 of the Convention. The Government is, therefore, requested to provide statistics on morbidity and mortality due to lead poisoning in its next report.