5.5.98 Official Journal of the European Communities L 131/11 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998 on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work (fourteenth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 118a thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ('), drawn up after consultation with the Advisory Committee on Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work, Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (%), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189c of the Treaty (%), (1) Whereas Article 118a of the Treaty provides that the Council shall adopt by means of Directives minimum requirements for encouraging improve- ments, especially in the working environment, to guarantee a better level of protection of the safety and health of workers; (2) Whereas, pursuant to that Article, such Directives shall avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of small and medium- sized undertakings; (3) Whereas the improvement of workers’ safety, hygiene and health at work is an objective which should not be subordinated to purely economic considerations; (4) Whereas the respect of minimum requirements on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents aims to ensure not only the protection of the health and safety of each individual worker but also to provide a level of minimum protection of all workers in the Community which avoids any possible distortion in the area of competition; (5) Whereas a consistent level of protection from the risks related to chemical agents has to be established for the Community as a whole; whereas that level of protection has to be set not by detailed prescriptive () OJ C 165, 16. 6. 1993, p. 4. () OJ C 34, 2. 2. 1994, p. 42. () Opinion of the European Parliament of 20 April 1994 (O] C 128, 9. 5. 1994, p. 167), Council common position of 7 Octo- ber 1997 (O] C 375, 10. 12. 1997, p. 2) and Decision of the European Parliament on 17 February 1998 (not yet published in the Official Journal). requirements but by a framework of general prin- ciples to enable Member States to apply the minimum requirements consistently; (6) Whereas a work activity involving chemical agents is likely to expose workers to risk; (7) Whereas Council Directive 80/1107/EEC  of 27 November 1980 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents at work (*), Council Directive 82/605/EEC of 28 July 1982 on the protection of workers from the risks related to expos- ure to metallic lead and its ionic compounds at work (first individual Directive within the meaning of Atrticle 8 of Directive 80/1107/EEC) (}) and Council Directive 88/364/EEC of 9 June 9 1988 on the protection of workers by the banning of certain specific agents and/or certain work activities (fourth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 8 of Directive 80/1107/EEC) (°), for the sake of consist- ency and clarity as well as for technical reasons, should be revised and included in a single Directive laying down minimum requirements for the protec- tion of the health and safety of workers in work ac- tivities involving chemical agents; whereas these Directives can be repealed; (8) Whereas this Directive is an individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Council Directive 89/391//EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work ('); (9) Whereas therefore the provisions of the said Direct- ive apply in full to the exposure of workers to chemical agents, without prejudice to more stringent and/or specific provisions contained in this Dir- ective; (10) Whereas more stringent and/or specific provisions relating to the transport of hazardous chemical agents are contained in binding international agree- ments and conventions incorporated into Commun- ity provisions on transport of dangerous goods by road, rail, water and air; (") OJ L 327, 3. 12. 1980, p. 8. Directive as last amended by Directive 88/642/EEC (O] L 356, 24. 12. 1988, p. 74). () OJ L 247, 23. 8. 1982, p. 12. () OJ L 179, 9. 7. 1988, p. 44. () OJ L 183, 29. 6. 1989, p. 1.