The Maternity Protection Act, 1994, inter alia provides that a pregnant employee must be granted health and safety leave from work in circumstances where a pregnancy related risk has been identified in the workplace and it is not possible either to remove the risk or to move the employee to other suitable work.
The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Pregnant Employees etc.) Regulations, 1994, which are enforced by the Health and Safety Authority, require an employer to conduct a risk assessment in relation to pregnant employees, employees who have recently given birth and employees who are breastfeeding. Guidelines published by the Authority advise that such risk assessment should, inter alia, include chemical substances including solvents.
I am informed that the Health and Safety Authority, in its advisory and enforcement functions, recommends that pregnant employees who are significantly exposed to perchlorethylene at work should be removed from work, for example at dry cleaning machines, and moved to other suitable work. If this is not possible, the employee should be granted health and safety leave in accordance with the Maternity Protection Act,
1994. In addition, in accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Chemical Agents) Regulations, 1994, and associated Code of Practice, no employee should be exposed to more than 50 parts per million perchlorethylene at work over an eight hour work day.
I am also informed that the Health and Safety Authority is studying the data from a number of relevant studies and that it intends to include the examination of the risks arising from exposure to perchlorethylene at work among the issues to be dealt with in its Programme of Work for 1998.
