CHAPTER II

EMPLOYERS' OBLIGATIONS

Hygiene and individual protection
Article 8
1
Employers shall be obliged, in the case of all activities for which there is a risk to the health or safety of workers due to work with biological agents, to take appropriate measures to ensure that:
a
workers do not eat or drink in working areas where there is a risk of contamination by biological agents;
b
workers are provided with appropriate protective clothing or other appropriate special clothing;
c
workers are provided with appropriate and adequate washing and toilet facilities, which may include eye washes and/or skin antiseptics;
d
any necessary protective equipment is:
- properly stored in a well-defined place,
- checked and cleaned if possible before, and in any case after, each use,
- is repaired, where defective, or is replaced before further use;
e
procedures are specified for taking, handling and processing samples of human or animal origin.
2
Working clothes and protective equipment, including protective clothing referred to in paragraph 1, which may be contaminated by biological agents, must be removed on leaving the working area and, before taking the measures referred to in the second subparagraph, kept separately from other clothing.
The employer must ensure that such clothing and protective equipment is decontaminated and cleaned or, if necessary, destroyed.
3
Workers may not be charged for the cost of the measures referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.