Brussels, 19/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - On the initiative of Anna Diamantopoulou, the Commission is on Friday 20 July to adopt a amendment to the directive on the protection of workers against risks linked to asbestos at work (Directive 83/477/EEC). This project for a modification responds to a Council request to refocus protection measures for workers now more exposed to asbestos, request that was backed by the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee. The proposal aims to: 1) ensure that risk-assessment reflects the different types of risk stemming from the work for which exposure to asbestos is an intrinsic or accessory characteristic; 2) place emphasis on the fact that the prevention or minimisation of exposure may be ensured by a series of measures that employers are held to respect; 3) review the limits of exposure and review the method of assessment of the airborne content of asbestos fibre: employers shall ensure that no worker is exposed to an airborne concentration of asbestos in excess of 0.1 fibres per cm3 as an 8-hour time-weighted average, against 0.6 for chrysotile and 0.3 for other forms of asbestos according to the current standards.
When drawing up this project, the Commission consulted representatives of Member States and the European Economic Area, European social partners and the Advisory Committee for Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection in the Workplace. All parties consulted agreed on the main aspects to take into consideration in the context of this amendment to the directive, especially the need to identify asbestos, improve the awareness, information and training of the workers concerned, draw up guidelines and further reduce the limit values for professional exposure, and to use a single method for measuring the airborne content of asbestos. This proposal will be submitted to the EP and Council, according to the co-decision procedure.