Member States are expected to approve a general approach to the directive on occupational exposure limit values (OELs) for asbestos on Friday 25 November, barring any surprises.
The EU Council would then be asked on 8 December to validate the agreement reached in record time.
The Commission proposed the revision of the directive on 28 September (see EUROPE 13031/20) and retained an occupational exposure limit value of 0.01 fibres/cm3. The Commission’s text has been changed very little, says one source, but it does introduce a change in the methodology for calculating the limit value. This change was proposed in particular by France, which circulated proposed amendments arguing for a more “modern” calculation technique based on electron microscopy.
The text of the general approach also includes a transition period of seven years for Member States to move to this method. In the meantime, they can continue to use other methods, including phase contrast optical microscopy (PCM), which remains the most widely used technology today and which the Commission continues to advocate. But this technique does not allow for the accurate measurement of an OELs of 0.01 f/cm³ or the identification of so-called fine asbestos fibres, which are smaller than 0.2 µm in diameter, according to Paris. The Commission will also have to help Member States make this transition. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)