Carcinogens at the workplace: binding limit values for cobalt (0.01 mg/m³ inhalable and 0.0025 mg/m³ respirable fraction), PAH mixtures measured as benzo[a]pyrene (0.00007 mg/m³), isoprene and 1,4-dioxane, and work involving welding fumes brought within the scope of Directive 2004/37/EC
Directive (EU) 2026/2450 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2026, published in the Official Journal of the EU on 30 October 2026, is the sixth revision of Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from carcinogens, mutagens and reprotoxic substances. It adds binding limit values for cobalt and its inorganic compounds, isoprene and 1,4-dioxane to Annex III, sets a limit value for PAH mixtures for the first time, introduces a biological limit value for 1,4-dioxane and brings work involving exposure to welding fumes within the scope of the directive; it enters into force on 19 November 2026 and Member States must transpose it by 20 November 2028.
- Cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds: 0.01 mg/m³ for the inhalable fraction and 0.0025 mg/m³ for the respirable fraction (8-hour values, measured as cobalt), with a notation for dermal and respiratory sensitisation; transitional values of 0.02 and 0.0042 mg/m³ apply until 20 November 2032. Isoprene (CAS 78-79-5) gets 8.5 mg/m³ (3 ppm), and 1,4-dioxane (CAS 123-91-1) 7.3 mg/m³ (2 ppm) and a short-term value of 73 mg/m³ (20 ppm, 15-minute reference period), with a skin notation.
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) mixtures, particularly those containing benzo[a]pyrene, had so far only a skin notation in Annex III — they now get 0.00007 mg/m³ (70 ng/m³) measured as benzo[a]pyrene. Until 20 November 2033 a value of 0.00014 mg/m³ applies in nine sectors: steel and iron foundries (including ferroalloy manufacturers), aluminium manufacturers, carbon and graphite manufacturers, coking plants, coal tar distillation, refractory products manufacturers, train track welding, other non-ferrous metallurgical processes and metal casting.
- Biological monitoring: the new text of Annex IIIa adds a binding biological limit value for 1,4-dioxane — 45 mg HEAA ((2-hydroxyethoxy)acetic acid) per gram of creatinine in urine, measured at the end of exposure or shift — and keeps the lead values from Directive (EU) 2024/869 (30 µg Pb/100 ml blood until 31 December 2028, 15 µg/100 ml from 1 January 2029, measured by absorption spectrometry or a method giving equivalent results). Work involving exposure to welding fumes containing category 1A or 1B carcinogens, mutagens or reprotoxic substances is added to Annex I — exposure must not exceed the limit values of the substances released during welding.
- According to the Commission impact assessment (SWD(2025) 193), more than 2.6 million workers in the EU are exposed to one of the five substances covered, national limit values for cobalt, where they exist, range from 10 to 500 µg/m³, and monitoring and administrative costs for businesses were estimated at about EUR 535 million over 40 years. Isoprene was not in the Commission proposal of July 2025 (the assessment found exposure already below the health-based value from the RAC opinion) — the value was added during the legislative process, and the transitional period for PAHs was extended from six to seven years.