by Brianna Crandall — August 28, 2015—The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the EU Committee of the Regions (CoR), consultative bodies of the European Union (EU), recently identified children and teachers in schools, do-it-yourself (DIY) enthusiasts, and maintenance workers as new groups that are increasingly at risk from asbestos in buildings across Europe.
The risk is now seen as extending far beyond traditionally exposed factory workers and construction/renovation and maintenance workers to include nearly the entire European community.
The EESC heard expert testimony during a conference this summer that soon-to-be-published figures place the total number of estimated deaths in Europe at 47,000 per year—50 percent higher than previously thought and double those related to road accidents.
Asbestos exposure
Although banned in 2005, asbestos is still found in many places, such as ships, trains, machinery and tunnels, and in pipes in public and private water distribution networks. Asbestos was used extensively in buildings erected between 1961 and 1990, with millions of tonnes still present in buildings, not only putting building and maintenance workers at risk but potentially anybody present or occupying the property, whether it is low-income housing or a royal palace, notes the EESC.
Over 80 percent of schools in the United Kingdom alone still contain asbestos. Also alarming is the emerging risk for everyday consumers, either doing a bit of DIY home repair or exposed to asbestos-contaminated consumer goods, such as thermos flasks, that have slipped through EU Market Surveillance controls.
Asbestos removal and actions
For the larger Member States, asbestos removal program could cost up to 10-15 billion euros per country which the EESC says is equivalent to the cost of building one Channel Tunnel for each of them at today’s prices.
The summer conference, Freeing Europe Safely from Asbestos, was a follow-up action to the EESC’s Opinion on Asbestos that was published in February.
The EESC Opinion urges the European Commission and Member States to prioritize taking action on this emerging crisis now and follow the example of some Member States in establishing Registers of Buildings containing Asbestos, along with developing action plans for safe asbestos removal.
The Committee also urged the European Commission to take advantage of the opportunity to link safe asbestos removal with its program on energy efficiency renovation of buildings, and said the EC and Member States should also improve the market surveillance against imports of product containing asbestos in the EU.
The Committee of the Regions also urged for the review of the existing EU legislative framework and pleaded for an end to the blame game between different levels of governance, saying regional and local authorities have a key role to play in addressing asbestos-related challenges, but must be given appropriate funding.
