EU Directive 2006/25/EC

On 5 April 2006, the European Directive 2006/25/EC on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to risks arising from artificial optical radiation was adopted as the 19th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) of Directive 89/391/EEC.

In order to facilitate implementation of this Directive, the commission published a non-binding guide to good practice for implementing Directive 2006/25/EC ‘Artificial Optical Radiation‘. The guide is mainly intended as an instruction for employers, particularly for those from small- and medium-sized companies. Furthermore, it may also be useful for employee representatives and supervisory authorities in the member states. The guide is available in English, German, and French.

Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance on Artificial Optical Radiation - OStrV

The EU member states were obliged to implement the Artificial Optical Radiation Directive 2006/25/EC in national law. With an ordinance based on the Safety and Health at Work Act (ArbSchG), the German Federal Government met its European obligations. The Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance on Artificial Optical Radiation - OstrV came into force on 27 July 2010.

In 2016 and 2017, the legislator implemented necessary legal adaptations to this Ordinance. Essential novelties refer to the definition of the skills, as well as the definition regarding the laser safety officer.

Technical Rules regarding the OStrV (TROS)

The Technical Rules regarding the OSH Ordinance on Artificial Optical Radiation (Technische Regeln zur Arbeitsschutzverordnung zu künstlicher optischer Strahlung, TROS) have been drawn up by the Committee on Work Equipment (Ausschuss für Betriebssicherheit, ABS) and published by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales, BMAS) in the Joint Ministerial Gazette (Gemeinsames Ministerialblatt, GMBl.). They reflect the state of the art of technology, occupational medicine, and occupational hygiene, as well as other established ergonomic findings concerning the protection of employees against risks from artificial optical radiation. Within their scope of application, they give concrete form to and explain the requirements laid down in the OSH Ordinance on Artificial Optical Radiation (Arbeitsschutzverordnung zu künstlicher optischer Strahlung, OStrV) and the Ordinance on Occupational Health Care (Verordnung zur Arbeitsmedizinischen Vorsorge, ArbMedVV). As long as the Technical Rules are complied with, employers may assume the relevant requirements set out in the ordinances are being satisfied.

Occupational health care

The Ordinance on Occupational Health Care (Verordnung zur arbeitsmedizinischen Vorsorge, ArbMedVV) defines, among other things, employers' duties with regard to occupational health care. Part 3 of the Annex to the ArbMedVV describes specific occasions for the provision of occupational health care to employees exposed to optical radiation. As a result, employers have a duty to arrange or offer occupational health care for certain activities involving exposure to artificial optical radiation.
Occupational health care also has to be provided for employees exposed intensively to natural UV radiation. Occupational Medical Rule AMR 13.3, "Open air activities involving intense exposure to natural UV radiation of one hour or more per day on a regular basis" (in German only), was published in 2019 to specify how this requirement is put into practice. Occupational Medical Rules reflect the state of the art in occupational medicine and other established occupational medical knowledge. Like Technical Rules that concretise occupational safety and health ordinances, they are covered by a presumption of conformity: as long as employers comply with the Occupational Medical Rule, they can assume that the relevant requirements of the ArbMedVV are being fulfilled.

For the current German versions of TROS please refer to our German Website.