Although the issue is acknowledged across EU countries,there is still a need for a more efficient evaluation of existing prevention methods, for standards registering diseases and for coordination between stakeholders, both nationally and internationally. Moreover, the lack of a common monitoring system for new allergens in workplaces has led to inefficient OSD surveilling and diagnosing.
OSD prevention is one of the main objectives of Action TD 1206 StanDerm (“Development and Implementation of European Standards on Prevention of Occupational Skin Diseases”), a network of scientists representing 26 countries coordinating prevention-related activities across Europe, aiming to establish prevention standards by improving educational concepts and identifying susceptibility indicators. Regulatory efforts are a crucial step in obtaining a systematic method of monitoring OSD prevention. As a result, ever since its launch in May 2013, StanDerm has engaged in organizing high-level awareness raising events involving EU policymakers and stakeholders in order to bring the issue on the political agenda and emphasise the importance of regulatory measures in terms of protecting workers.
One of the Action’s main objectives is to prevent occupational non-melanoma skin cancer by solar UV radiation. For this purpose, and as part“Skin Cancer Awareness Day”, StanDerm experts organized a debate with members of the European Parliament from different political parties and European Commission policy officials on the latest research findings and the scientific basis for the prevention of the disease. Held on 5 November 2013 in Brussels,“Protecting Outdoor Workers in the EU: Skin Cancer Prevention Status and Gaps” was attended by StanDerm experts and representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (OSHA) and the European Commission. The event also led to the drafting of a petition by participating parliamentarians to relevant EU decision makers, asking for action on the StanDerm goal of improved prevention of occupational skin cancer and for its implementation in the European Schedule of Occupational Diseases as well as in a work protection directive including solar UV-radiation currently under preparation.
StanDermAction Chair Prof. Swen Malte John also spoke at “Working Together for Risk Prevention”, the closing event of the 2012-13 Healthy Workplaces Campaign, held on 11-12 November 2013 in Bilbao, Spain. The event unfolded as a sequence of EU expert hearings on occupational skin diseases and their improved prevention throughout Europe. StanDerm also participated in an event organised by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment that took place on 3-4 December 2013 in Brussels, aimed at discussing future health and safety concepts within the EU social model.
The swift succession of these events, attended by EU and UN organisations alike, attests to the societal relevance of StanDerm’s activities and overall objective. One of the outcomes expected from these meetings is the inclusion of StanDerm’s central aims in a new EU health & safety strategy for 2014-2020 and in the European Commission’s work protection regulations and good practice recommendations.