Activities of Stephen HUGHES related to 2012/2065(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Asbestos-related occupational health threats and prospects for abolishing all existing asbestos (A7-0025/2013 - Stephen Hughes) (vote)
Reports (1)
REPORT on asbestos related occupational health threats and prospects for abolishing all existing asbestos PDF (227 KB) DOC (144 KB)
Amendments (18)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 3 a (new)
Citation 3 a (new)
- having regard to the Council Resolution of 29 June 1978 on an action programme of the European Communities on safety and health at work, in particular article 41 __________________ 1 4. Develop a preventive and protective action for substances recognized as being carcinogenic, by fixing exposure limits, sampling requirements and measuring methods, and satisfactory conditions of hygiene at the work place, and by specifying prohibitions where necessary.
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas as early as 1977 a group of experts commissioned by the European Commission concluded: 'There is no theoretical evidence for an exposure threshold below which cancers will not occur. A safe exposure level to asbestos has not been established', whereas this opinion has been affirmed over the years by all relevant scientific advisory bodies, whereas it is generally accepted by courts that there is no known threshold exposure to asbestos below which there is no risk,
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. whereas local communities lack expertise and have serious shortcomings in the execution of prevention, surveillance and enforcement tasks, which are often too fragmented;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N a (new)
Recital N a (new)
Na. whereas, in line with Directive 92/57/EEC1, in dangerous situations facilities must be provided to enable working clothes to be kept in a place separate from workers' own clothes and personal effects __________________ 1 Directive 92/57/EEC: Annex IV PART A GENERAL MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ON-SITE WORKPLACES 14.1.2 If circumstances so require (e.g. ►C1 dangerous substances ◄, humidity, dirt), facilities must be provided to enable working clothes to be kept in a place separate from workers' own clothes and personal effects.
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T
Recital T
T. whereas asbestos exposure is a threat to the general population and causes diseases to a recognised extent1; __________________ 1 A parliamentary committee concluded in 1978 after an 18-month investigatory period that asbestos presented ‘a danger both to workers in the asbestos industry and to those exposed in other situations’ (European Parliament 1978)
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Urges the EU to develop models for monitoring existing asbestos in private and public buildings including residential and non-residential housing, land, infrastructure, logistics and piping;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Urges the EU to establish action plans for owners of public buildings for the safe removal of asbestos by 2032 and to encourage private house owners to audit their premises for ACMs;
Amendment 73 #
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 and management, including construction professionals who are working incidentally with asbestos;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the EU to establish a roadmap for asbestos-free workplaces and an asbestos-free environment, based on the principles laid out by the WHO1; __________________ 1 WHO - 'Global Health Risks: Mortality and burden of disease attributable to selected major risks' - http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_bur den_disease/GlobalHealthRisks_report_fu ll.pdf and http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public _health/asbestos/en/
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Calls for offenders to be prosecuted and punished, and therefore for any obstacles to such action which may be contained in national criminal law to be surveyed and abolished;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Calls on the Commission to urgently put forward a proposal to amend Directive 2004/37/EC on the protection of workers from the risks related to carcinogens and mutagens at work, ensuring that the health of workers at risk of being exposed to carcinogens be protected and safeguarded through the promotion and exchange of best practices in prevention and diagnosis;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Calls for recognition procedures to be simplified and facilitated;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the EU to ensure that all asbestos-related occupational diseasdiseases, including pleural plaques, are recognised and compensated for;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Ccalls on the EU to establish independent advisory boards ofrelevant agencies of the EU - with the help of independent medical and technical experts - to delineate the scientific proof required to prove that certain working conditions induced asbestos-related disease;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Calls, more generally, for the concept of health and safety of employees to be taken into account by national law and to constitute a performance obligation for employers with reference to Framework Directive 89/931/EC;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Calls on the EU to address the unacceptable dumping of asbestos on developing countries at forums where trade agreements are being discussed, in particular at the WTO, and to exert diplomatic and financial pressure on asbestos-exporting countries to shut down asbestos mining industries and to stop the illegal and unethical practice of exporting end-of-life ships containing asbestos;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Condemns European financial investment in global asbestos industries;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 b (new)
Paragraph 35 b (new)
35b. Calls on the Commission to ensure that vessels carrying asbestos as cargo in transit can neither dock nor use port facilities or temporary storage within the EU;