Asbestos has been banned in Europe since 2005 and yet it still causes between 30,000 and 90,000 deaths per year in the European Union. Studies show that we should expect to continue seeing a rise in cases of asbestos-related diseases in the coming years, as cases in the EU are expected to peak by 2025. The tricky part here is that asbestos-related diseases can take up to 40 years to manifest themselves and therefore it will take a long stretch of time before the asbestos bans, which have been put in place all over Europe, start bearing fruit.
In view of this possible stretch of time before diseases manifest themselves, it sometimes proves difficult for asbestos victims and their families to demonstrate the link between asbestos exposure and their disease. Failure to prove such link will result in an inability for them to be recognised as asbestos victims and to be eligible for work-related compensation.
Recognition becomes even more difficult when the victims are family members of workers who were exposed to asbestos at work and who were transporting asbestos fibres to the house setting, every day through their clothes and work equipment. Although recognition and compensation are difficult challenges for these victims, science has shown us that asbestos is a non-threshold carcinogen and therefore any level of exposure, however low, brings a risk of developing asbestos-related diseases.
Although the bans that have been put in place throughout the EU sometimes lead to the perception that asbestos is a problem of the past, this cannot be further away from the truth. At EU level, last year the European Commission published its Renovation Wave Strategy which aims to double renovation rates in the next 10 years and make sure renovations lead to higher energy and resource efficiency. This is also aimed at being part of the economic recovery plan from the Covid-19 pandemic in that it will intensify labour in the building sector which is generally mostly made up of local businesses. However, this will also lead to a situation whereby we risk having a new wave of asbestos victims in view of workers’ exposure to asbestos when renovating old houses.
It is therefore crucial for further protection standards to be introduced in the EU’s legislative framework on the protection of workers from asbestos before this renovation wave kicks in. Moreover, protection should also be strengthened in relation to exposure to asbestos fibres outside the work place because people living close to buildings which are being renovated and family members of workers are also facing the same risks unless adequate exposure limits and protection measures are in place.
These are some of the challenges which I am seeking to address in my role as negotiator for the Socialists and Democrats on the protection of workers from asbestos within the Committee for Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. I have a vested interest in this subject given that our country has had the highest rate in the EU when it comes to asbestos-related diseases in view of exposure to asbestos fibres of dockyard workers. Indeed the best practices used in Malta in this area, especially in relation to government’s commitment to provide compensation to asbestos victims, should serve as an example to the rest of the member states within the EU.
The protection of workers’ rights and the health of our citizens is at the heart of the work being carried out in this context and we will seek to present an ambitious package of protection measures prompting the Commission to propose amendments to the current legislative framework with a view to strengthening protection ahead of the renovation wave.
Cyrus Engerer, MEP