Welding Fumes Join Europe's Official Carcinogen List as Brussels Tightens Chemical Exposure Limits
Published on 11/07/2026 at 11:51 | Editorial boerse-global.de
European employers have until 20 November 2028 to write a sweeping new chemical-safety directive into national law — and among its most consequential changes is one that formally labels welding fumes a carcinogenic process.
Directive (EU) 2026/2450, adopted by the European Parliament and Council on 21 October 2026 and published in the EU Official Journal on 30 October 2026, amends the CMR Directive 2004/37/EG and entered into force on 19 November 2026. Its addition of welding fumes containing category 1A or 1B CMR substances to Annex I follows a 2017 decision by the International Agency for Research on Cancer to classify welding fumes as a Group 1 carcinogen. According to the Brussels Times, the measure could prevent roughly 1,700 lung cancer cases and 19,000 other illnesses over a 40-year period.
The directive also sets new or stricter occupational exposure limits:
- Cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds: 0.01 mg/m³ (inhalable) and 0.0025 mg/m³ (respirable), with transitional values of 0.02 mg/m³ and 0.0042 mg/m³ until 20 November 2032.
- PAH mixtures (as benzo[a]pyrene): 0.00007 mg/m³ over eight hours; sectors including coking plants, aluminium smelters and steelworks get a transitional value of 0.00014 mg/m³ until 20 November 2033.
- Isoprene: 8.5 mg/m³ (3 ppm, 8h).
- 1,4-Dioxane: 7.3 mg/m³ (2 ppm, 8h), a short-term value of 73 mg/m³ (20 ppm) and a biological limit of 45 mg HEAA/g creatinine in urine.
- Mercury: 0.02 mg/m³ over eight hours, with a clarified scope of application.
Respiratory protection and other personal protective equipment remain a last resort and require regular breaks from wearing. Meeting legal limits does not guarantee a risk-free workplace, so any residual risk must be disclosed transparently to employees.
With carcinogenic substances now under closer legal scrutiny, the quality of your hazard documentation matters more than ever. A free COSHH Risk Assessment Toolkit gives you 43 ready-to-use templates, checklists and toolbox talks to help you meet your legal duty to assess hazardous substances properly. Download the free COSHH Risk Assessment Toolkit
A National Framework Built on Two Risk Thresholds
The European rules sit atop a German system that has treated carcinogenic substances as a category apart for years. The risk concept for category 1A and 1B carcinogens — agreed by the social partners back in 2008 and adopted by the Committee on Hazardous Substances (AGS) — has been fully incorporated into the Hazardous Substances Ordinance (GefStoffV).
As part of that process, § 10 GefStoffV was rewritten in both substance and structure and supplemented by a new § 10a, while asbestos provisions were consolidated into the new §§ 11 and 11a.
Published in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs' Bekanntmachung zu Gefahrstoffen No. 910, the concept rests on two figures: an acceptance risk of 4:10,000, which was generally to be lowered to 4:100,000 in 2018, and a tolerance risk of 4:1,000. Both describe the statistical additional cancer risk from exposure across a 40-year working life with daily contact.
The AGS regards these thresholds as a high level of protection. Evidence on how well that protection works on the ground came partly from the programme "Miteinander und systematisch für einen sicheren Umgang mit krebserzeugenden Gefahrstoffen" (AP KeGS), run during the third period of the Joint German Occupational Safety and Health Strategy, which reviewed how companies put the legal requirements into practice.
Substitution: Easier Said Than Done
At the heart of hazard avoidance is the legally anchored substitution principle: dangerous substances must be replaced by safer alternatives wherever such options exist. In practice, that step is rarely straightforward. Substitutes need comparable technical properties, must be available on the market and cannot introduce new risks to people or the environment.
For companies assessing workplace hazards, the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) offers its Easy-to-use Control Scheme for Hazardous Substances (EMKG), in place since 2005. Version 2.2 is aligned with the 2010 GefStoffV and counts as a standardised procedure under TRGS 400; newer legal developments such as the CLP Regulation require an update to EMKG 3.0.
Where substitution isn't feasible, the paper trail still has to hold up. A free Risk Assessment Toolkit bundles 41 templates and checklists — covering everything from hazardous substances to PPE — so you can document residual risks clearly and defend your decisions if inspectors come calling. Download the free Risk Assessment Toolkit
Substitution aside, basic safeguards remain critical. Workplace practice repeatedly reveals shortcomings in the use of chemical-protective gloves — particularly regarding wearing times, reuse, storage and hygiene — any of which can increase exposure.
