This book is a study of strategic approaches to managing the risks of working with hazardous substances in Europe. Its central theme concerns the widening gap between debates and developments at national and international levels concerning safety in the use of chemical substances at work in the European Union and practices within workplaces. It sets out to discover what drives informed and competent risk management in chemical health and safety and what role occupational exposure limits play in this process.

Contents: Introduction : hazards, risks and limits -- 1. The problem of chemical risks -- 2. Exposure limits and institutional structures for hazardous substance regulation in the European Union -- 3. Systems for setting and using occupational exposure limits in EU 15 countries -- 4. The United Kingdom -- 5. Germany -- 6. Greece -- 7. Italy -- 8. The Netherlands -- 9. Sweden -- 10. Beyond limits? - the place of OELs in the new regulation of chemical risks in Europe.