Heléne Fritzon, S&D MEP and Parliament negotiator on carcinogens and mutagens, said:
“No one should die at work. Sadly, for many Europeans the workplace can become fatal. Around one hundred thousand Europeans die every year from cancer because they were exposed to toxic substances at work. One out of two work-related deaths are caused by cancer - like the firefighter who was exposed to benzene and developed leukaemia. Or the automotive worker handling nickel, which caused lung cancer.
“I am proud that we managed to ensure that from now on reprotoxic substances will fall under the same workplace harm-prevention rules as carcinogens and mutagens. 2 million workers are exposed to dangerous substances that can damage their fertility or harm foetal development. This is simply not acceptable. Pregnant and breast-feeding women in particular deserve a safe workplace.
