09/12/2022 (Agence Europe) – The former European Parliament (initiative) rapporteur on the revision of the directive on occupational exposure to asbestos, Nikolaj Villumsen (The Left, Danish) expressed his “deep disappointment”, on Friday 9 December, with the limit value of 0.01 fibres/cm3 proposed by the EU Council on 8 December (see EUROPE 13080/16), “10 times higher that the one adopted by the European Parliament in 2021, namely 0.001”. “The EU Council is clearly not listening to the concerns of the experts and all the workers in the field who are actually exposed to asbestos”. This position “is not only disappointing, it could also end up being detrimental to workers’ health”. The EU Council is also dragging its feet on the introduction of the new ‘electron microscopy’ method, with a transition period of 7 years. “This is not serious”, said the MEP. (SP)