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Current and Likely Future Trends in European Community Legislation of Relevance to Indoor Air Quality at the Workplace

M.F. Curtis is a former Expert Advisor to the Health and Safety Directorate of the European Commission, Luxembourg

The European Community has been actively developing a framework of law governing the protection of the health and safety of workers since the late 1970s. A number of the directives which now apply, or are in the process of being transposed into the national laws of EC Member States, impose require ments concerning the evaluation and control of risks arising from work activi ties which have a direct relevance to indoor air quality. The Community is also now actively developing a list of exposure limit values which will provide air quality criteria to be met as part of the overall system of control. Whether or not there is a need for further legislation covering indoor air quality in workplaces, and particularly in non-industrial workplaces, is a subject of debate. It seems that at the present time there is an insufficiently clear defini tion of what factors need to be more tightly controlled for legislation to be effective. However, experience suggests that there is clearly scope for the bet ter application of current good practice in the design and use of buildings.

Key Words: European Community directives • Health and safety at work • Workplace air • Standards • Regulation

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