Activities of Manuel BOMPARD related to 2019/2182(INL)
Plenary speeches (1)
Protecting workers from asbestos (debate)
Opinions (1)
OPINION with recommendations to the Commission on protecting workers from asbestos
Amendments (19)
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that worldwide hundreds of millions of people are exposed to asbestos every year, despite its health risks having been known for decades; whereas a study by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health puts the number of persons dying each year as a result of exposure to asbestos at some 250 0001a; __________________ 1aFuruya S, Chimed-Ochir O, Takahashi K, David A, Takala J. Global Asbestos Disaster. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2018; 15(5):1000. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15051000
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Points out that, in addition to the active, continuous or periodic exposure of workers to asbestos, there is also the problem of passive occupational exposure involving persons working in the vicinity of other workers dealing with asbestos;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the existence of different types of non-occupational exposure to asbestos, whether of para-occupational, domestic or environmental origin (including exposure to asbestos dust brought home by workers), domestic (including the presence of household objects containing asbestos) or environmental origin (materials present in buildings and facilities or industrial materials);
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recalls that asbestos diseases have been observed in populations living or having lived in the vicinity of industrial sites or premises with degraded flocking; stresses that, despite the difficulty of making a precise assessment, many studies suggest that the degree of environmental exposure to asbestos has been underestimated1a 1b; points out, therefore, that, depending on the source of exposure, levels of environmental exposure to asbestos may reach occupational levels of exposure1c; __________________ 1aKrówczyńska M, Wilk E. Environmental and Occupational Exposure to Asbestos as a Result of Consumption and Use in Poland. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(14):2611. Published 2019 Jul 22. doi:10.3390/ijerph16142611 1b Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety) (2016), L'amiante: Présentation, effets sanitaires, expositions et cadre réglementaire (Asbestos: presentation, impact on health, forms of exposure and regulatory framework) (https://www.anses.fr/fr/content/l%E2%80 %99amiante) 1cHaute autorité de Santé (High Authority for Health) (2009), Exposition environnementale à l'amiante (Environmental exposure to asbestos): état des données et conduite à tenir (state of scientific knowledge and action required (https://www.has- sante.fr/jcms/c_759760/fr/exposition- environnementale-a-l-amiante-etat-des- donnees-et-conduite-a-tenir)
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that a series of studies carried out by the US Environmental Protection Agency1a 1b starting in 2006 revealed significant levels of asbestos in rivers and their nearby tributaries; points out that, according to these studies, the level of asbestos is sufficiently toxic to prevent vegetation from growing properly and to cause harm to fauna; calls on the European Environment Agency to carry out similar studies in the near future; __________________ 1a Washington State Department of Health (2009), Advisory for Swift Creek Naturally Occurring Asbestos 1bUnited States Environmental Protection Agency, Swift Creek (https://response.epa.gov/site/site_profile. aspx?site_id=3639)
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Recalls that a study by Italian scientists has shown that ingestion of water containing asbestos fibres significantly increases the risk of gastric and colorectal cancers;1a; stresses that the samples taken in the course of that study revealed significant concentrations of asbestos fibres in tap water in Tuscany, reaching levels of up to 700 000 fibres per litre; __________________ 1aAgostino Di Ciaula, Valerio Gennaro. Rischio clinico da ingestione di fibre di amianto in acqua potabile. Epidemiologia&Prevenzione, https://epiprev.it/3608
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Takes the view that the complete eradication of asbestos which is still present and of all products containing asbestos worldwide should be a priority objective for the EU;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls onUrges the Commission to set out a European strategy for the complete elimination of asbestos; calls on all Member States to adopt national action plans, with funding and specific local, regional and national roadmaps, to implement that strategy; considers that the Commission should coordinate the national action plans, in particular through the adoption of a framework directive on this matter; emphasises the need for the social partners and other stakeholders, including asbestos victims’ groups, to be fully involved in the drafting, implementation and assessment of the European strategy and the national plans;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. ConsidersExpresses concern at the state of the drinking water supply network in the EU and the presence of asbestos-cement pipes, the deterioration of which is releasing asbestos fibres into the water; Considers, as part of the European strategy for the elimination of asbestos and with support from the European and Member State recovery plans, that a comprehensive renovation and asbestos removal plan for the European drinking water distribution network should be drawn up and implemented;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Welcomes the opportunity offered by the renovation wave presented by the Commission on 14 October 2020 to eradicate asbestos completely from buildings; stresses the imperative need to guarantee the highest possible level of protection for workers and local people exposed to asbestos during rehabilitation and demolition operations;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that unsafe working conditions for workers may expose society as a whole to risks of asbestos exposure, in particular the families of the workers concerned; stresses, therefore, the need to guarantee a high level of protection of the health and safety of workers, in particular by providing them with proper protective equipment and ensuring that family members are not exposed to asbestos on work clothes and tools;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Commission to support the dissemination of information on the various systems for the destruction of asbestos products based on best available techniques; Stresses that the creation of landfills for asbestos waste can only be an interim solution; condemns the practice of dumping asbestos waste in landfills for non-specific construction waste; calls on the Commission to support the dissemination of information on the various systems for the destruction of asbestos products based on best available techniques; urges the Commission to introduce programmes to provide effective support for research into inertia treatment technologies for waste containing asbestos with a view to recycling, safe re- use and a reduction in the landfilling of such waste; considers that the organised and systematic eradication of asbestos contributes to regional development objectives and should therefore be fully supported under the EU Structural Funds;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Points out one third of Europeans live in countries that have not yet banned the use of all forms of asbestos; stresses that 16 European countries still use asbestos, including as a building material, and continue to produce and export asbestos; urges the Commission to take decisive action under the Neighbourhood Policy to bring about the banning and complete eradication of asbestos throughout the European continent and in the states bordering the Mediterranean Sea;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the EU to work with other international organisations and third countries to achieve a global ban on asbestothe World Health Organisation, the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Environment Programme, other international organisations and third countries to achieve a global ban on asbestos, promote higher levels of occupational health and workplace safety worldwide, and improve information and support for victims of asbestos-related diseases; calls on the EU to make representations to asbestos-exporting countries urging them close asbestos mines;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Urges the EU to consider as a top priority the inclusion of chrysotile asbestos in the list in Annex III to the Rotterdam Convention and to take all the steps required to bring this about;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Is alarmed at the current upsurge in the global asbestos trade; condemns the efforts on the part of the powerful global asbestos lobby to prevent the imposition of a global asbestos ban; condemns the fact the EU continues to export asbestos, in particular in vessels sent for dismantling to third countries; stresses that EU-based companies are continuing to develop activities linked to the mining of asbestos in third countries; considers that the imposition of a duty of care on European companies can represent a contribution by those companies to the global eradication of asbestos and guarantee access to justice for non-European victims of asbestos-related diseases; hopes that the negotiations on the International Treaty on Business and Human Rights will also take account of the issue of impunity linked to the mining of asbestos;
Amendment 100 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. The development of information campaigns on asbestos to provide relevant information to workers, employers, owners, tenants, users of buildings and infrastructure, and citizens about the risks and legal obligations relating to asbestos, in particular as regards the characteristics of asbestos, its effects on health (including synergistic effects linked to smoking), the types of materials, products and places likely to contain asbestos and the relationship between their condition and the probability of them releasing fibres, the relevant public authorities and the financial aid available to carry out safe asbestos removal;
Amendment 111 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. The establishment of a European framework for public and accessible asbestos registers, together with a mapping of the exact location of asbestos on public and private sites and the provision of detailed information on landfills containing asbestos waste in order to prevent the uncontrolled release of asbestos fibres into the air, the accidental displacement of soils in which these materials are buried and the associated public health risks;
Amendment 122 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. The active involvement of the social partners and other stakeholders, such as asbestos victims’ groups, in the drafting, implementation and assessment of a roadmap for asbestos-free workplaces and an asbestos-free environment.