Activities of Andrea ZANONI related to 2012/2065(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on asbestos related occupational health threats and prospects for abolishing all existing asbestos
Amendments (23)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas delivering asbestos waste to landfills would not appear to be the safest way of definitively eliminating the release of asbestos fibres into the environment (particularly into air and groundwater) and whereas therefore it would be far preferable to opt for asbestos inertisation plants;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Deplores the lack of information from several Member States that impedes a reliable prediction of mesothelioma mortality in Europe, noting that, according to the available partial epidemiological data, in the EU more than 250 000 citizens are expected to die from mesothelioma by 2030 and that, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, between 20 000 and 30 000 cases of asbestos- related disease are recorded every year in the European Union alone;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas creating landfills for asbestos waste is only a temporary solution to the problem, which in this way is left to be dealt with by future generations, as asbestos fibres are virtually indestructible over time;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that all types of asbestos have been recognised as a health hazard and that the harmful effects of inhaling asbestos fibres, such as lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma, can take as long as several decades (in some cases, more than 40 years) to become apparent;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas, despite the ban on the use of asbestos, it is still found in many ships, trains, bunkers, tunnels, galleries, pipes in public and private water distribution networks and especially in buildings, including many public buildings;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the verdict, delivered on 13 February 2012 by a court in Turin, on the deadly consequences of asbestos whereby the former owner and the former director of the Italian branch of the Eternit company were indicted as responsible for about 3 000 asbestos-related deaths, and were ordered to pay damages to the victims and their relatives and to civil society associations;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Points out that asbestos is still present in many ships and buildings, andboth indoor and outdoor spaces, in close contact with people, including in public and private buildings (in particular in roofs, floors, linoleum and vinyl tiles), ships, trains, bunkers, tunnels and galleries and public and private water supply pipes, as well as in some refurbishment, demolition and waste treatment activities where itsand in various landfills whose exact location is often unknown, and where, as a consequence, it wouldcan have an impact on thenot only exposed workers, possibly also affectingbut also the general public;.
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges the Member States to ensure that all cases of asbestosis and mesothelioma are registered by means of systematic data collection on occupational asbestos diseases, and to provide reliable mapping of the presence of asbestos and therebyby setting up a compulsory register of all asbestos in public and private buildings, ships, trains, bunkers, tunnels, galleries and public and private water supply pipes and making sure that the register includes clear details of landfills containing asbestos waste, so as to prevent ground in which such materials are buried from being disturbed unwittingly and to contribute to prevention and remedial actions;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas a mandatory asbestos audit of buildings, ships, trains, bunkers, tunnels, galleries, pipes in public and private water distribution networks and landfills would provide a solid and informed basis for national, regional and European removal programmes;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Underlines that regardless of the source of exposure or the employment status of the person exposed, all EU asbestos victims and their relatives deserve the right to receive swift and appropriate medical treatment and adequate financial support from their national health schemes;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recognises the key role of asbestos victims’ associations and groups and civil society associations, and recommends that the Member States and the EU provide funding for their work and collaborate with them in the establishment of a comprehensive plan to eliminate all remaining asbestos in Europe;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital V
Recital V
V. whereas due to the very long latency period and due to the lack of knowledge among medical staff, victims often do not receive timely and proper support by healthcare providers;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to accept the 2023 deadline proposed by trade unions for a complete ban on asbestos within the EU, including chrysotile asbestos diaphragms, and ensuring appropriate remediation of all concerned sites, including unsecure landfills. and to bring the threshold for worker exposure to asbestos fibre set in Directive 2009/148/EC down to the lowest possible level;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the EU to devise models for monitoring asbestos fibres in the air in the workplace, built-up areas and landfills and fibres present in drinking water supplied through asbestos cement pipes;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to revise the provisions on exemptions for chrysotile asbestos in Annex XVII to the REACH Regulation, and to ensure that substitution takes place before the end of the 10-year exemption granted in 2009;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take steps to ensure the remediation of all public and private sites affected, including non-secure landfill sites containing asbestos waste, and to promote the use of alternative eco- compatible, secure processes such as inertisation for the processing of waste containing asbestos and the subsequent recycling of the resulting usable materials in the construction industry;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Calls on the Commission, in view of the continuing shortcomings in Member State controls, to see to it that Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste is properly implemented, so as to ensure that all waste containing asbestos, irrespective of its fibre content, is classified as hazardous waste and, as a result, disposed of solely in dedicated hazardous-waste landfills, in order to avoid any accidental release of fibres which could pollute the surrounding air and the underlying groundwater; believes that waste containing asbestos should anyway be processed in dedicated treatment and inertisation plants, rather than disposed of in hazardous-waste landfills.
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges the Commission to integrate the asbestos issue into other policies such as the EU policy on energy efficiency and on waste;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Secretaries General of the EU institutions to provide a complete register – which should be open to the public – of ACMs in EU buildings, bunkers, tunnels, galleries and pipes in public and private water distribution networks;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls on the Commission to promote the establishment of centres for the treatment and inertisation of waste containing asbestos throughout Union territory, combined with phasing out all delivery of such waste to landfills;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to propose a specific directive with minimum requirements for the vocational training of construction and maintenance workers, including construction professionals who are working incidentally with asbestos, as well as employees at landfills disposing of waste containing asbestos or centres specialising in treatment and inertisation of asbestos waste;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Urges the EU to start action plans for asbestos removal at European, national and regional levels, which are to include: legislation; education and information; training for public employees; national and international training; awareness-raising activities related to the removal of asbestos and products containing asbestos from buildings, public amenities and sites of former asbestos factories; cleaning premises, building landfills and installations for the destruction of asbestos and asbestos- containing debris; monitoring of the implementation of regulations, exposure assessments of at-risk personnel, and health protection;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Calls on the Commission to establish a Charter for Asbestos Victims specifying the rights EU asbestos victims and members of their families can expect;