OELs 6 - Final report V3 Cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds

The Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic Substances Directive (Directive 2004/37/EC), hereinafter the CMRD, protects workers from exposure to carcinogens, mutagens or reprotoxic substances at work. This study supports the European Commission’s Impact Assessment (IA) of a potential Occupational Exposure Limit (OEL) for cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds. Cobalt metal and inorganic cobalt compounds are used in a large number of downstream sectors. In total 27 sectors and 2 cross-sectoral activities are analysed. Furthermore, 32 sectors or cross-sectoral activities, indicated in national databases, CSRs (Chemical Safety Reports) and the literature have been screened and excluded from the detailed assessment. The main factors considered in the exclusion of sectors from the analysis are that the available data indicate that the 95 percentile (P95) of the exposure concentrations is below the lowest assessed OEL and the assessment thereby would indicate no impact, or that the available data indicate that the application may not take place today. For cross-sectoral downstream applications, some sectors with limited use are excluded and the estimated number of workers exposed, and the number of companies are allocated to the main sectors for the application. As an example, sharpening of hardmetal tools may to some extent take place in many sectors, but this activity is in the analysis allocated to the sector C25.62 ‘Machining’ which is considered to include those companies specialised in this activity. In addition, for some activities a detailed split between sectors where the alloys are used could not be obtained and the distribution of the activities between sectors is quite uncertain. This approach does not affect the overall costs and benefits but intro-duces some uncertainties in the distribution of the impacts between sectors. In total, the study has estimated that around 113,000 workers are exposed to cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds.