Asbestos experts wanted – work with us to prepare good practice guidelines

The European Commission is drafting new non-binding good practice guidelines for the safe management of asbestos at work. In a series of workshops interested stakeholders can make their contribution to the development of practical and comprehensible guidelines.

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Asbestos is a highly dangerous, cancer-causing substance. Environmental and occupational exposure to asbestos is known to contribute to the high burden of cancer in Europe, causing many avoidable deaths. 78% of cancers recognised as occupational cancer in the EU and 88% of occupational lung cancers are asbestos-related. EU legal protection of workers from the specific risks of exposure to asbestos dates back to 1983. The most recent piece of legislation is the Asbestos at Work Directive 2009/148/EC which was revised in 2023.

Practical advice for employers and workers

The revised Asbestos at Work Directive has significantly lowered the binding occupational exposure limit for asbestos and set other provisions. This is the reason why the Commission will develop until December 2025 guidelines to facilitate the implementation of the revised Directive. The European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion (DG EMPL) will be assisted by the external service provider RPA Europe Prague s.r.o. in implementing this project.

The aim of the document is to provide practical advice on preventing and reducing occupational exposure to asbestos for employers, workers, occupational health and safety services and experts, and others concerned with advice on the safe management of asbestos at work.

A series of online workshops will be organised in October and November 2024

As a part of the project, a series of online workshops to gather experts and stakeholders' views on the potential structure and contents of the guidelines, including the specific good practices and measures that can be included in the document, will be organised:

Workshop	Workshop date	Start-finish (CET)
WS01 Asbestos in buildings: Identification & detection	Wed 30/10/24	9am-5pm
WS02 Asbestos in buildings: Removal	Tue 12/11/24	9am-5pm
WS03 Air exposure measurement	Mon 18/11/24	9am-5pm
WS04 Passive exposure & secondary exposure	Fri 22/11/24	9am-1pm
WS05 Health surveillance	Wed 4/12/24	9am-1pm
WS06 Waste transport and disposal	Fri 29/11/24	9am-1pm
WS07 Asbestos in ships & trains	Tue 19/11/24	9am-1pm
WS08 Emergency services and firefighting	Tue 3/12/24	9am-1pm
WS09 Asbestos in mining & quarrying	Wed 27/11/24	2pm-5.30pm
WS10 Road construction, rail ballast, hardcore	Tue 26/11/24	9am-1pm

DG EMPL welcomes all asbestos experts and interested stakeholders at any of the workshops. Please click here to indicate which workshops you would like to attend. You will subsequently receive an invitation with a videoconference link. If you do not receive a calendar invitation with a videoconference link, please email [email protected] to let our service provider know. If you are aware of any other contacts that may be interested in participating, please forward this information to them.

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