Analysis of the status of the new European asbestos Directive

At the end of 2021, the European Commission issued a report with recommendations on asbestos protection. This document included a wide range of measures to be taken regarding asbestos in the Member States, some of which were extremely ambitious and, according to many experts, actually unattainable.

It is, however, the lowering of occupational exposure limits (OELs) from 0.1 fibres per cm3 (100,000 fibres/m3) established in the 2009 Directive, to 0.001 fibres per cm3 (1,000 fibres/m3) that has been most discussed.

Experts from all over Europe agreed that this 100-fold drop in the OEL was very difficult to achieve today and that this would not necessarily result in an actual increase in worker protection. Additionally, nowadays there is no equipment or method to measure the fibres in the air to verify that they are within this limit.

The European Decontamination Institute conducted a survey and it confirmed that reaching the OEL of 0.001 fibres/cm3 is almost impossible with the current equipment and means. Several countries are already having difficulty complying with the current limit of 0.1 fibres/cm3. In many areas of Europe, there are still no effective control methods to ensure that all asbestos decontaminations meet this limit, even though the legislation exists and in theory, is being complied with. Many countries do not even conduct asbestos searches before demolition or renovation. And there is still no effective control over where the asbestos waste ends up in some places.

Therefore, to protect the health of workers that performed asbestos removal, it would be more interesting to focus on creating strategies to ensure that the provisions of the Directive are implemented and try to imitate what is being done in other countries with more restrictive legislation than the European minimum, including France, Germany, or the Netherlands. Among other measures, something that could be copied from these countries is the lowering of the OEL, which they currently have at 0.01 fibres per cm3.

As a result, towards the end of 2022, the Commission decided to rectify and issued a communication stating that the new asbestos Directive will finally include an OEL equal to 0.01 fibres/cm3 as an 8- hour time-weighted average to improve workers’; health protection without disproportionately harming the agents involved.

In addition, the same document explains that this value of asbestos fibre concentration can be measured with optical microscopy, which is the technology most commonly used to make these measurements, so that, in principle, it would not be necessary to establish a transition period to allow the different agents to adapt to the new measures. However, in the same paragraph, it is indicated that it would be more convenient to use technologies based on electron microscopy and that for this it would be necessary to establish a transition period. The issue of whether or not companies will be given time to adapt their equipment and working methods remains unclear. Although in other ways, the Commission has even said that it will give a transition period of 7 years.

And beyond the OEL and how to measure it, this new Communication indicates that there will be an express obligation for employers to protect workers by applying all available preventive measures. It specifically mentions the need to decontaminate workers after the working day, the importance of providing them with adequate training and the obligation to always look for asbestos before starting any demolition or other project in constructions that may contain asbestos.

Lastly, it also includes the obligation of the Member States to create a health surveillance plan for workers exposed to asbestos, as already introduced in the previous Report. Although it does not give much more information about it. As a result, towards the end of 2022, the Commission decided to rectify the situation and issued a Communication on asbestos in the European Union.

To ensure the safe disposal of asbestos and zero pollution, the Commission will also revise the EU Construction and Demolition Waste Management Protocol and the Guidelines for the waste audits before demolition and renovation works of buildings, while also launching a study to identify asbestos waste management practices and new treatment technologies.

And finally, at this point, it only remains to talk about the next steps that will be carried out at the European level on this Asbestos Directive update. The information we have so far is that in the coming months, the new Directive will be discussed in the Parliament and the European Council for its approval. Once approved, the Member States will have a maximum period of two months for its transposition into national legislation. And that’s when will start to apply in each country.