INTRODUCTION

This chapter continues our analysis of the nature and role of requirements on setting and using OELs within regulatory systems that we started in Chapter 2 in relation to European Community institutions. In the present chapter however we are concerned with the position at the level of the member states, and specifically with that in the EU 15 member states. The primary intention here is to document comparable and distinguishing features of the various national level institutional and legislative frameworks in which exposure limits are developed and used. To these ends a considerable amount of detailed information on different national structures and systems was gathered, both in the original research project on which the book is based (Walters et al 2003) as well as more recently in updating that material and adding to it new elements. The main aspects of the various systems for setting and using OELs have of course not changed within the last two years. However, there have been changes to the lists of OELs in some countries as well as to many of the Internet links identified in the previous published report (Walters et al 2003). Also significant for accurate documentation of national systems is the tendency to reshuffle responsibilities within governments after an election, resulting in changes in the ministries responsible for the establishment of occupational health and safety legislation in general and for publishing/issuing the OELs in particular. We have therefore attempted to reflect these changes in the current chapter. We...