PETMA members share a common ethical undertaking on health safety to ensure the well-being of all our employees and customers. Safety is of paramount concern in the design of power tools all of which, by definition, have the capacity to cause harm to the user if improperly used. PETMA members invest significant resources in ensuring that their products are safe when used properly.
PETMA members both design power tools and adopt common industry standards that minimise the risk to users developing health problems from, for example, the effects of dust, noise and vibration. Dust extraction at the worksite requires the addition of an appropriate dust extractor and filtration, depending on the application, in conjunction with the power tool.
Workplace exposures are regulated by national laws for certain substances and by European directive 2004/37/EC on carcinogens and mutagens.
As manufacturers, PETMA members recognise that some components of power tools, particularly batteries in cordless power tools, contain hazardous materials. PETMA members work hard to ensure that power tools – and batteries in cordless tools - are either reused or recycled at end of life. This depends on national, regional and local authorities ensuring that the necessary collection facilities are in place and creating public awareness of the importance of returning waste electrical and electronic equipment at the end of its life. PETMA is aware that power tools bought by DIY customers are often kept for many years before being disposed of and works with government to address the challenge to ensuring that they are finally disposed of responsibly.