A/HRC/39/48 that these laws and policies are precautionary in practice because of the high level of scientific uncertainty that often prevails. As part of their occupational safety and health legislation, States should compel business enterprises to eliminate hazards wherever possible and apply the hierarchy where the hazard cannot be eliminated. Principle 4 — Workers have the right not to be exposed to toxic substances without their prior informed consent. 82. The right to safe and healthy work encompasses the right of workers not to be exposed to toxic substances without their prior informed consent. Workers have the right to remove themselves from situations where they are exposed to toxic chemicals and other hazardous substances that they have a reasonable justification to believe present a danger. 83. States should respect, protect and fulfil the right of workers not to be exposed without their prior informed consent. States should clearly reflect this right in their laws, investigating and punishing any alleged violations as warranted and ratifying ILO conventions. States should include the failure of business enterprises to abide by the above principle in their definitions of forced labour, modern slavery and/or exploitation. 84. Employers have a responsibility to fully inform and obtain the consent of workers prior to exposing them to toxic substances. Employers should respect this principle and right irrespective of the State’s willingness to enact necessary laws. Employers should be able to demonstrate that they have informed all employees, subcontractors and suppliers of this right and that mechanisms or procedures to remove themselves from unsafe or unhealthy conditions of work are in place. The absence of such mechanisms or procedures should not present an obstacle to the exercise of this right. Principle 5 — Duties and responsibilities to prevent the exposure of workers to toxic substances extend beyond borders. 85. The transboundary transfer of hazardous work to countries with lower levels of protection should be considered a form of exploitation if reasonable measures are not taken to protect workers. 86. States are obliged to take reasonable measures to prevent workers’ exposure to toxic substances that occur outside their territories and that give rise to infringements of applicable rights due to the activities of business entities over which they can exercise control and that are reasonably foreseeable. 72 States should require such business entities to act with due diligence to identify and prevent abuses by foreign subsidiaries, suppliers and other business partners. 87. Business enterprises are responsible for the consequences of exposures of workers to hazardous substances that they cause, contribute to or to which they are linked. 73 Businesses have responsibilities throughout the lifecycle of their products, from extraction to final disposal, up and down their supply chains. They have a responsibility to ensure that they and their suppliers, both at home and abroad, adopt good practices such as the hierarchy of hazard controls to prevent exposure to toxic substances through their products’ lifecycles, their operations and their services. Principle 6 — States must prevent third parties from distorting scientific evidence or manipulating processes to perpetuate exposure. 88. States must prevent, through legislation or other measures, the deliberate distortion of scientific evidence or manipulation of processes by business enterprises 72 73 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 24 (2017) on State obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of business activities, paras. 30−32. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, principle 13. 17