Health and Safety Executive EMF Directive: Working towards transposition HSE Radiation Policy Team

Objectives for today Provide a brief summary of where the EMF Directive is up to Overview of how HSE plans to take the transposition forward Highlight where we would like your input How you can be involved

The current state of play Revised Directive 2013/35/EU was published in EU OJ on 29th June 2013 –Updates 2004 Directive (never brought into law in UK) –UK played leading role in tough negotiations –Strong support from stakeholders Employers control EMF exposure to avoid adverse health effects and manage safety risks –Graded approach to control (based on ICNIRP) Measurable Action Levels – ‘indicative’ Internal Exposure Limit Values – ‘limit’ Derogations for those justified to work above ELV whilst avoiding adverse health effects and managing safety risks

Key areas of concern Key areas of concern raised to date with HSE about the Directive: –Article 4: Risk assessment –Article 8: Health Surveillance –Article 10: Derogation Lets talk about each of these briefly

Article 4: Assessment of risks and determination of exposure The Framework Directive already requires us to carry out risk assessments, which we transposed into the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 Evidence tells us that those working with potentially harmful levels of electromagnetic fields are already doing what it takes to protect their workers

Article 4: Assessment of risks etc continued… Demonstrating that risk assessments have incorporated appropriate data (as required by Article 4 of the EMF Directive) is the area of concern Guidance on risk assessment is likely to feature in both the EU and the UK Practical Guides

Article 8: Health surveillance The Framework Directive already requires us to provide health surveillance, which in the UK we have transposed with the Management Regulations 1999 We are not looking to transpose these requirements again

Article 10: Derogations Derogations from the Exposure Limit Values and the Action Levels “Installation, testing, use, development, maintenance of or research related to MRI equipment for patients in the health sector” “Personnel working in operational military installations or involved in military activities” “…in duly justified circumstances and only for as long as they remain duly justified, for the ELV to be temporarily in specific sectors or for specific activities…”

Transposition into UK legislation We are required to transpose the EMF Directive into the UK legislative framework within three years of the publication in the EU Official Journal There is a determined path for us to follow outlined in the UK Governments Guiding Principles for Transposing EU Legislation Significant parts of the Directive will already be covered by the Management Regulations 1999 New legislation may be required for those areas not already covered in law

Copy out The current UK approach is that laws passed by the EU, are transposed into UK law using ‘copy out’ ‘Copy out’ is where the implementing UK law uses the same wording as the Directive We can make a legal argument for areas where copy out would put UK business at a competitive disadvantage compared with their European counterparts

What happens next? EU Member States have 3 years to bring into force –New UK arrangements Summer 2016 European Commission developing ‘Practical Guide’ UK Government will implement in most proportionate and sensible way –existing arrangements wherever possible –supporting guidance Ongoing engagement with stakeholders essential

Practical Guide - EU Timings –Contract let by end 2013 –Drafting and internal clearance processes –In translation 2015 –Ready by Jan 2016

Practical Guide - UK UK Practical guide –Expected to support the UK legislative process –“Duly justified circumstances” To make the practical guides useful for you, we need you to be involved Digital by default

Stakeholder ‘contracts’ Establishing a Working Group to liaise on Practical Guides Representatives + Deputies elected by mid August 2013 First Working Group meeting 30/09/13 COPI - Community of Professional Interest

Your involvement is important HSE’s work with with stakeholders has helped secure the least burdensome Directive possible By continuing to work together we can identify areas of commonality, avoid reinventing the wheel, and benefit from shared knowledge and experience Arqiva has already been most helpful – we would like you to get involved and tell us what you are looking for from HSE

Summary Stakeholder involvement has been and still is key Timeline – 3 years to get everything ready We are in this together!