The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) may establish guidelines on health protection requirements (Art. 38 ArGV 3 (PDF, 20 kB, 30.03.2016)). The guidelines that SECO can issue based on this provision will mainly contain generally recognized - preferably scientifically backed - health technical and occupational medical rules (including behaviors, limit values, minimum values). The SECO guidelines have the same legal significance for health protection as the EKAS guidelines for occupational safety (Art. 53 VUV).Even at workplaces without the use of hazardous substances for the work process (e.g., office activities), the minimization requirement also applies, i.e., unnecessary pollutant concentrations in the room must be avoided as much as possible. The evaluation of indoor air quality is based on guidelines, orientation values, or statistical data (Art. 18 ArGV 3 (PDF, 561 kB, 02.07.2020)).
Orientation value for non-industrial workplaces:
SECO has published an orientation value for ozone in indoor spaces: Ozone Orientation Value (PDF, 378 kB, 02.04.2019) (in german)
Assessment values for selected substances with (particularly) health-endangering properties:
For substances with (particularly) health-endangering properties (especially carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic properties), SECO has developed an overview of assessment values intended to ensure the protection of the health of all employees exposed to such substances. The Excel file linked below lists various such assessment values that cannot be adequately covered by the MAK or BAT values:
- e.g., reference values of the European Committee for Risk Assessment RAC, which the Swiss authorities use for the assessment of authorization applications for prohibited substances (SVHC) (see tab "DNEL" and also tab "International Assessment Standards"). The RAC reference values known to SECO are listed in the list.
- e.g., values for particularly sensitive population groups such as pregnant or breastfeeding women, e.g., lead
- e.g., international health-based recommendations for biomonitoring assessment values. The linked Excel file contains information on the nature of these values and a direct link to the respective sources.
As a component of the state of the art, the assessment standards should be appropriately considered when implementing measures (cf. Art. 6 Para. 1 ArG and Art. 25 Para. 1 ChemG):
- "The employer is obliged to take all measures necessary according to experience, applicable according to the state of the art, and appropriate to the conditions of the company to protect the health of employees" (Art. 6 Para. 1 Sentence 1 ArG).
- "Anyone who professionally or commercially handles substances or preparations must take all measures necessary according to experience, applicable according to the state of the art, and appropriate to the conditions of the company to protect the lives and health of employees" (Art. 25 Para. 1 Sentence 1 ChemG).
