The European Parliament has approved the agreement on the sixth revision of the Carcinogens, Mutagens and Reprotoxic Substances Directive (CMRD 6), the French trade publication Actuel HSE reported on 8 October 2026. This EU directive (2004/37/EC) protects workers from exposure to carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances at work. The agreement adds new and revised occupational exposure limit values (OELs; VLEP in French). Such a limit value sets the maximum concentration of a substance permitted in workplace air. The Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on 23 June 2026, under the Cypriot Presidency of the Council, on the proposal the European Commission had presented on 18 July 2025.
Which substances do the new limit values cover?
The agreement sets new or revised limit values for cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds, for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and for 1,4-dioxane. Welding fumes, released during welding work, are included in Annex I of the directive for the first time — the list of substances, mixtures and processes to which the directive applies. These elements were already in the Commission’s proposal. The Council and Parliament added a limit value for isoprene, further extending the directive’s scope. They also extended the transition period for the new PAH limit value to seven years, and that transitional arrangement now applies to all carbon and graphite producers.
What else changes for employers and workers?
Workers required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) will now be entitled to regular breaks. The rules on how the use of PPE relates to existing legislation are also clarified. Because welding fumes are added to Annex I as a possible reprotoxic substance, the negotiators have adjusted the directive’s definitions of “carcinogen”, “mutagen” and “reprotoxic substance”. The text also stresses the importance of further guidance on welding fumes. A new recital in the directive states that limit values do not fully remove the risks to workers’ health and safety. According to the Council’s press release, both institutions must still endorse the provisional agreement and formally adopt it after a legal-linguistic review; after Parliament, the Council therefore still has to take a position as well.
Context
In its press release of 23 June 2026 on the provisional agreement, the Council of the European Union states that the directive has been regularly revised since a 2017 evaluation of the EU’s occupational safety and health directives. Five earlier revisions have already been adopted, together covering more than forty major hazardous substances. According to the Council, this sixth revision is expected to prevent around 1,700 cases of lung cancer and 19,000 other cases of illness over the next forty years. Cypriot Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Marinos Moushouttas called the agreement a reflection of “our shared commitment to a high level of protection for workers”.
Source: CMRD 6 : le Parlement européen adopte l’accord sur les nouvelles VLEP, 8 October 2026
Additional research: Council and Parliament agree on measures to protect workers from exposure to hazardous substances, Council of the European Union
