Diesel Engine Exhaust Emissions

Our ref: HSR/1/3
Head Office Circular: NP/214/22
10th October 2022
To: The Secretary
ALL BRANCHES
REGIONAL COUNCILS

Dear Colleague,

DIESEL ENGINE EXHAUST EMISSIONS (DEEE)

I write to inform you that your National Executive Committee (NEC) was convened on 6th October 2022, to consider a report from its Health and Safety sub-committee, from when it met to discuss a resolution received from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Regional Council:

We the members of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Regional Council seek the following:

• The NEC to introduce a DEEE register and ensure that this is publicised to all our members - and the register is kept as a record of exposure and managed by the RMT.
• That a list is drawn up of workers forced into retirement suffering symptoms of DEEE so they might populate the register.
• That an urgent letter is sent to all rail and bus and transport companies informing them that the RMT intends to set up an exposure register and ask for support to populate it. In addition, the letter should explain that the RMT and our safety reps will no longer tolerate our members being neglectfully exposed to DEEE and this ought to be raised on every safety agenda where workers are exposed - with the view to introduce measures which can either eliminate or reduce the exposure to DEEE
• That an article is written for RMT news highlighting the dangers from DEEE, advertising the register and what our members should expect from their employers.
• Finally, that this resolution should be added to the DEEE file and that be revisited periodically to press employers for workplace improvements.

Your National Executive Committee (NEC), at its meeting on 6th October 2022, noted and adopted the following report from its Health and Safety sub-committee:

We note the resolution from York and District Regional Council – and their suggestion for a Diesel Exhaust Emission Register (DEEE).

In relation to this we instruct the General Secretary to:
survey members on a regular basis to find out their exposure to diesel pollution, for wording of survey to be agreed with RMT clean air working group
contact the unions solicitors as regards the viability of setting up a Diesel register
include an article in RMT News Article on diesel engine exhaust emissions.
We instruct the General Secretary to link this file to the main file ‘Clean Air at Work’ and also for DEEE file to be linked to the main file.

I am acting in accordance with these instructions.

Please bring the contents of this circular to the attention of relevant members.

Yours sincerely

Michael Lynch
General Secretary