Commission Directive 2000/39/EC
of 8 June 2000
establishing a first list of indicative occupational exposure limit values in implementation of Council Directive 98/24/EC on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work
(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998 on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work, and in particular Article 3(2) thereof,
OJ L 131, 5.5.1998, p. 11.
Having regard to the opinion of the Advisory Committee on safety, hygiene and health protection at work,
Whereas:
(1) Pursuant to Directive 98/24/EC, the Commission is to propose European objectives in the form of indicative occupational exposure limit values for the protection of workers from chemical risks, to be set at Community level.
(2) The Commission, in carrying out this task, is assisted by the Scientific Committee for occupational exposure limits to chemical agents (SCOEL), instituted by Commission Decision 95/320/EC.
OJ L 188, 9.8.1995, p. 14.
(3) For any chemical agent for which indicative occupational exposure limit values are established at Community level, Member States are required to establish a national occupational exposure limit value, taking into account the Community limit value, determining its nature in accordance with national legislation and practice.
(4) Indicative occupational exposure limit values should be regarded as an important part of the overall approach to ensuring the protection of the health of workers at the workplace, against the risks arising from hazardous chemicals.
(5) A first and a second list of indicative occupational exposure limit values were established by Commission Directives 91/322/EEC and 96/94/EC in the framework of Council Directive 80/1107/EEC of 27 November 1980 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents at work.
OJ L 177, 5.7.1991, p. 22.
OJ L 338, 28.12.1996, p. 86.
OJ L 327, 3.12.1980, p. 8.
(6) Directive 80/1107/EEC has been repealed with effect from 5 May 2001 by Directive 98/24/EC.
(7) It is appropriate to reenact, in the framework of Directive 98/24/EC, the indicative occupational exposure limit values which had been established by Directives 91/322/EEC and 96/94/EC in the framework of Directive 80/1107/EEC.
(8) The list set out in the Annex contains the substances set out in the Annex to Directive 96/94/EC and incorporates a number of other agents for which indicative occupational exposure limit values have been recommended by SCOEL, following the evaluation of the latest available scientific data on occupational health effects and taking into account the availability of measuring techniques. In view of the foregoing and in the interests of clarity Directive 96/94/EC should be recast.
(9) It is necessary to establish short-term exposure limit values for certain substances to take account of effects arising from short-term exposure.
(10) For some agents, it is necessary to have regard also to the possibility of penetration through the skin, in order to ensure the best possible level of protection.
(11) This Directive constitutes a practical step towards the achievement of the social dimension of the internal market.
(12) The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee instituted by Article 17 of Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work,
OJ L 183, 29.6.1989, p. 1.
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1 Community indicative occupational exposure limit values are hereby established for the chemical agents set out in the Annex.
Article 2 Member States shall establish national occupational exposure limit values for the chemical agents listed in the Annex, taking into account the Community values.
Article 3 1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 31 December 2001 at the latest. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference at the time of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.
Article 4 Directive 96/94/EC is repealed with effect from the date referred to in Article 3(1).
Article 5 This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 6 This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
ANNEX

INDICATIVE OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE LIMIT VALUES
Einecs Einecs: European inventory of existing chemical substances.	CAS CAS: Chemical abstract service registry number.	Name of agent	Limit values				Notation A skin notation assigned to the OEL identifies the possibility of significant uptake through the skin.
			Eight hours Measured or calculated in relation to a reference period of eight-hours time-weighted average.		Short-term A limit value above which exposure should not occur and is related to a 15-minute period, unless otherwise specified.		
			mg/m3 mg/m3: milligrams per cubic metre of air at 20 °C and 101,3 KPa.	ppm ppm: parts per million by volume in air (ml/m3).	mg/m3	ppm	
200-467-2	60-29-7	Diethylether	308	100	616	200	—
200-662-2	67-64-1	Acetone	1 210	500	—	—	—
200-663-8	67-66-3	Chloroform	10	2	—	—	Skin
200-756-3	71-55-6	1,1,1-Trichloroethane	555	100	1 110	200	—
200-834-7	75-04-7	Ethylamine	9,4	5	—	—	—
200-863-5	75-34-3	1,1-Dichloroethane	412	100	—	—	Skin
200-870-3	75-44-5	Phosgene	0,08	0,02	0,4	0,1	—
200-871-9	75-45-6	Chlorodifluoromethane	3 600	1 000	—	—	—
201-159-0	78-93-3	Butanone	600	200	900	300	—
201-176-3	79-09-4	Propionic acid	31	10	62	20	—
202-422-2	95-47-6	o-Xylene	221	50	442	100	Skin
202-425-9	95-50-1	1,2-Dichlorobenzene	122	20	306	50	Skin
202-436-9	95-63-6	1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene	100	20	—	—	—
202-704-5	98-82-8	Cumene	100	20	250	50	Skin
202-705-0	98-83-9	2-Phenylpropene	246	50	492	100	—
202-849-4	100-41-4	Ethylbenzene	442	100	884	200	Skin
203-313-2	105-60-2	e-Caprolactam, (dust and vapour)	10	—	40	—	—
203-388-1	106-35-4	Heptan-3-one	95	20	—	—	—
203-396-5	106-42-3	p-Xylene	221	50	442	100	Skin
203-470-7	107-18-6	Allyl alcohol	4,8	2	12,1	5	Skin
203-473-3	107-21-1	Ethylene glycol	52	20	104	40	Skin
203-539-1	107-98-2	1-Methoxypropanol-2	375	100	568	150	Skin
203-550-1	108-10-1	4-Methylpentan-2-one	83	20	208	50	—
203-576-3	108-38-3	m-Xylene	221	50	442	100	Skin
203-603-9	108-65-6	2-Methoxy-1-methylethylacetate	275	50	550	100	Skin
203-604-4	108-67-8	Mesitylene (Trimethylbenzenes)	100	20	—	—	—
203-631-1	108-94-1	Cyclohexanone	40,8	10	81,6	20	Skin
203-726-8	109-99-9	Tetrahydrofuran	150	50	300	100	Skin
203-737-8	110-12-3	5-Methylhexan-2-one	95	20	—	—	—
203-767-1	110-43-0	Heptan-2-one	238	50	475	100	Skin
203-808-3	110-85-0	Piperazine	0,1	—	0,3	—	—
203-905-0	111-76-2	2-Butoxyethanol	98	20	246	50	Skin
203-933-3	112-07-2	2-Butoxyethyl acetate	133	20	333	50	Skin
204-065-8	115-10-6	Dimethylether	1 920	1 000	—	—	—
204-428-0	120-82-1	1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene	15,1	2	37,8	5	Skin
204-469-4	121-44-8	Triethylamine	8,4	2	12,6	3	Skin
204-662-3	123-92-2	Isopentylacetate	270	50	540	100	—
204-697-4	124-40-3	Dimethylamine	3,8	2	9,4	5	—
204-826-4	127-19-5	N,N-Dimethylacetamide	36	10	72	20	Skin
205-480-7	141-32-2	n-Butylacrylate	11	2	53	10	—
205-563-8	142-82-5	n-Heptane	2 085	500	—	—	—
208-394-8	526-73-8	1,2,3-Trimethylbenzene	100	20	—	—	—
208-793-7	541-85-5	5-Methylheptan-3-one	53	10	107	20	—
210-946-8	626-38-0	1-Methylbutylacetate	270	50	540	100	—
211-047-3	628-63-7	Pentylacetate	270	50	540	100	—
	620-11-1	3-Pentylacetate	270	50	540	100	—
	625-16-1	Amylacetate, tert	270	50	540	100	—
215-535-7	1330-20-7	Xylene, mixed isomers, pure	221	50	442	100	Skin
222-995-2	3689-24-5	Sulphotep	0,1	—	—	—	Skin
231-634-8	7664-39-3	Hydrogen fluoride	1,5	1,8	2,5	3	—
231-131-3	7440-22-4	Silver, metallic	0,1	—	—	—	—
231-595-7	7647-01-0	Hydrogen chloride	8	5	15	10	—
231-633-2	7664-38-2	Orthophosphoric acid	1	—	2	—	—
231-635-3	7664-41-7	Ammonia, anhydrous	14	20	36	50	—
231-954-8	7782-41-4	Fluorine	1,58	1	3,16	2	—
231-978-9	7783-07-5	Dihydrogen selenide	0,07	0,02	0,17	0,05	—
233-113-0	10035-10-6	Hydrogen bromide	—	—	6,7	2	—
247-852-1	26628-22-8	Sodium azide	0,1	—	0,3	—	Skin
252-104-2	34590-94-8	(2-Methoxymethylethoxy)-propanol	308	50	—	—	Skin
		Fluorides, inorganic	2,5	—	—	—	—
Deleted by Commission Directive (EU) 2017/164 of 31 January 2017 establishing a fourth list of indicative occupational exposure limit values pursuant to Council Directive 98/24/EC, and amending Commission Directives 91/322/EEC, 2000/39/EC and 2009/161/EU (Text with EEA relevance).
Deleted by Commission Directive 2006/15/EC of 7 February 2006 establishing a second list of indicative occupational exposure limit values in implementation of Council Directive 98/24/EC and amending Directives 91/322/EEC and 2000/39/EC (Text with EEA relevance).
Deleted by Commission Directive 2009/161/EU of 17 December 2009 establishing a third list of indicative occupational exposure limit values in implementation of Council Directive 98/24/EC and amending Commission Directive 2000/39/EC (Text with EEA relevance).