Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139) - Sweden (Ratification: 1975)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government. It notes that certain ordinances, such as the Ordinance on Occupational Limit Values (1993) and the Asbestos Ordinance (1992), are currently being revised and that the Ordinance on Dangerous Substances has been revised and adopted in 1994. Furthermore, the Committee notes with interest that pursuant to the Chlorinated Solvents (Various) Ordinance the professional use of methylene chloride and trichloroethylene is prohibited after 1 January 1996.

Article 3 of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government's indication according to which the work regarding the computerization of the official register of the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health ("Board") into which all data concerning permits for the handling of carcinogenic substances issued by authority of the Occupational Exposure Limit Values Ordinance, as well as the permits issued by the Board under the Asbestos Ordinance, is still in progress. It also notes the Government's explanation that priority has been given to the registration of data concerning new permits. The Government is requested to continue to provide information on the measures taken to protect workers against the risks of exposure to carcinogenic substances.

Article 5. With reference to its previous comments in which the Committee requested the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that all workers exposed to all types of carcinogenic substances undergo medical examinations or biological or other tests or investigations during the period of employment and thereafter, since only workers exposed to asbestos were provided with medical examinations during their employment and workers previously exposed to asbestos were engaged in voluntary medical examinations. In its response the Government had indicated that the Board cannot make it obligatory for an employer to provide post-employment medical examinations. In its latest report, the Government indicates that according to its understanding of Article 5 of the Convention, medical examinations have the purpose to facilitate an assessment of exposure to carcinogenic substances and also to monitor the health status of persons exposed. Therefore, the Government refers to the general approach of Swedish policy in this area aiming to reduce workers' exposure to carcinogenic substances to the extent that no worker will risk in future to develop cancer from their working environment. Exposure to carcinogenic substances is monitored through a system of national registration in which all newly discovered cases of cancer are reported to the Swedish Cancer Register which are used as a basis for risk monitoring. The Government also points out that workers who have been exposed to asbestos and who are now retired or for any reason no longer exposed, are covered by the public medical system in terms of medical examination in the case that any symptoms of cancer may occur. Nevertheless, the Government indicated that the National Board of Occupational Safety and Health is drafting an ordinance on medical checks to indicate when such checks are appropriate and meaningful. The Committee would recall that the inclusion of obligatory post-employment medical examinations, as necessary, to evaluate the exposure to carcinogenic substances and to supervise the state of health of the worker in relation to the occupational hazards was intended to respond to the not uncommon situation wherein the cancer is not detected until after a worker has terminated the employment involving exposure. Further, the Committee would point out that, in order to ensure medical observation of all workers who have been exposed to all kinds of carcinogenic substances and also to ensure the discovery of cancer at the earliest stages, it cannot be left to the worker's decision whether he or she will undergo medical examinations under the public medical system. The Committee therefore expresses once again the hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that all workers exposed to carcinogenic substances are provided with medical examinations or biological or other tests or investigations during the period of employment and thereafter as are necessary to evaluate their exposure and supervise their state of health in relation to the occupational hazards. The Government is requested to indicate, in its next report, the progress made in this regard and to supply a copy of the ordinance on medical checks when it is adopted.