Tightening of asbestos limits – health protection

On October 23, 2023, the Council of the European Union approved a new EU directive to prevent and improve the health protection of workers from possible exposure to asbestos and other pollutants at the workplace. The new regulations also include new rules such as stricter asbestos limit values and modern measurement techniques to protect and the prevention of asbestos hazards.


New EU directive

With the adoption of the new EU directive by the EU Council, the legislative process was formally completed on October 23, 2023 to enter into force. The new regulations include a reduction in the limit values for asbestos at the workplace. They also include new and specific measures to protect against and prevent potential health risks. Workers are to be better protected, particularly for the wave of refurbishment and renovation work that is likely to take place between now and 2030.

The introduction of electron microscopy as a measurement method is to be exempt from this deadline. The member states have up to six years to implement this in their national legislation. Asbestos measurement using electron microscopy should then be used as a suitable modern and sensitive technology for the detection of asbestos fibers.

Health risk due to exposure to asbestos

Asbestos has been banned in the European Union since 2005. In Germany, a nationwide ban on asbestos was introduced in 1993 . Numerous countries around the world have also had country-specific asbestos bans for many years.

Asbestos and the release of its fibers pose severe hazards. for your health. The respiratory tract and lungs can be damaged and cancer can develop. Asbestosis, a cancer caused by asbestos fibres, is now recognized as an occupational disease. Asbestos continues to be one of the main causes of occupational cancer. Asbestos can still be found in large quantities in many buildings as well as in a wide variety of products. Due to its characteristics such as its high resistance, good insulating properties and outstanding resistance to very high temperatures, asbestos was considered a “miracle material”. It was used for a wide variety of (building) materials without being aware of the dangers it posed.


Contents of the new EU directive relating to asbestos

  • Reduction of the applicable asbestos limit values
  • Use of electron microscopy as a sensitive and modern measurement technology for the detection of asbestos fibers
  • Extended measures for the protection and prevention of asbestos hazards

Stricter asbestos limits

The current asbestos limit value with a maximum concentration of 0.1 asbestos fibers per cm³ in the air will be significantly reduced by the new regulations of the EU directive. After implementation in the EU countries, the maximum concentration may only be 0.01 asbestos fibers per cm³ in the air. This means that the maximum value for exposure to asbestos at the workplace will be reduced to one tenth.

It is expected that the new limit values for asbestos, i.e. a maximum concentration of 0.01 asbestos fibers per cm³ in the air, will significantly reduce the development of asbestos-related diseases and cancer. The tightening of the limit values is also a key objective of the EU in view of the expected upcoming wave of energy-efficient renovations by 2030, which could affect up to 35 million buildings.


Electron microscopy – the latest measurement technology

After a transitional period of a maximum of six years following the adoption of the EU directive, the member states are obliged to use electron microscopy as a more sensitive method of measuring asbestos fibers. Electron microscopy can be used to measure significantly finer asbestos fibers than the phase-contrast microscopy used today.

After this transitional period, the EU member states have the choice between two exposure limit values as asbestos limit values, depending on whether thin asbestos fibers are measured. If they measure thin asbestos fibers, the maximum exposure value remains at 0.01 f/cm3. If you do not measure thin asbestos fibers, the exposure value is significantly reduced to 0.002 f/cm3.

Better prevention and protection against asbestos

The new provisions of the EU-Regulation are intended to prevent and better protect employees from the health risks associated with exposure to asbestos . Employers will then have to determine whether the materials in premises may contain asbestos before carrying out work such as maintenance and demolition. This regulation then applies to buildings that were constructed before the national ban on asbestos (in Germany in 1993). In order to determine the age of the buildings, specific information may be obtained from the owners or from directories. In order to better protect workers from the dangers of asbestos, they should wear suitable personal protective equipment. They must also receive mandatory training that meets the minimum quality requirements set out in the EU directive.


Analysis of asbestos with Scanning electron microscopy

Our partner company, GSA Gesellschaft für Schadstoffanalytik mbH, has several high-performance Hitachi scanning electron microscopes for the finest measurements of a wide variety of materials. Of these scanning electron microscopy devices, the Hitachi SU5000 is suitable for particularly fine materials, for example for the analysis of asbestos fibers. It offers a spatial resolution of up to 3.0 nm at 15 kV and enables images to be magnified by a factor of 30 to 1,500,000.


Would you like to carry out asbestos measurements or asbestos analysis in your home or at the workplace?

Send your no-obligation inquiry to the contact form at GSA Gesellschaft für Schadstoffanalytik mbH.


Sources:

Image source: 123rf.com © erpeewee, image no. 163518563

www.consilium.europa.eu/de/policies/protecting-workers/#asbestos

www.consilium.europa.eu/de/press/press-releases/2023/10/23/protection-from-asbestos-at-work-council-votes-to-reduce-exposure-limits/?wpmobileexternal=true

www.ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/de/ip_22_5679/ip_22_5679_de.pdf

www.consilium.europa.eu/de/policies/protecting-workers/

www.consilium.europa.eu/de/press/press-releases/2023/06/27/asbestos-council-and-parliament-strike-deal-on-new-rules-protecting-workers/