A new European asbestos exposure limit will be too little and too late to protect workers from cancer, trade unions are warning today as the European Parliament publishes its report on the issue.
The European Parliament voted in October 2021 for a new limit of 0,001 fibres/cm3, based on the finding by the International Commission of Occupational Health that any limit higher than that would not protect sufficiently against asbestos related cancer.
But today’s report recommends an asbestos exposure limit that is ten times higher than that limit.
The five year time period recommended for the implementation revision is also far too long at a time when there are 90,000 asbestos-related deaths a year in Europe and there are not sufficient enforcement mechanisms included to make this revision a reality for frontline workers.
Lees meer: ETUC: Asbestos protections too little, too late
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August 12th, 2022
The renowned Spanish TV presenter, José María Iñigo was betrayed by his employers who exposed him to asbestos, by a government which failed to acknowledge the hazard and by the Supreme Court which denied that his cancer had been caused by toxic workplace exposures.1
The groups issuing this press release represent asbestos victims and campaigners in Europe, Latin America and Asia. We are united in our solidarity with a grieving family which has lost a father and husband and has been denied the acknowledgment of the harm they have suffered.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) recently passed on a French-initiated alert to all its European affiliates regarding defective Proflow asbestos masks manufactured by the US 3M corporation. These protective masks are the most widely used masks on asbestos removal sites throughout Europe. In France alone, they are regularly worn by more than 25,000 workers.
The motor pulsing asbestos-contaminated air through the mask’s filter system could present rpm fluctuations during use. As the 160-litre per minute airflow required by the legislation and necessary for the proper functioning of the device is not constantly ensured, workers wearing this mask are no longer effectively protected against inhaling asbestos fibres.
According to Libération, the French newspaper revealing the affair to the general public, malfunctions of these powered air respirators were first reported to 3M management in May 2018 by one of its employees, herself alerted via the mask maintenance centres. She reported that “90 of 100 Proflow masks received have a problem with insufficient airflow” and “that there is no alarm when the airflow drops below 160 L/min”. Sidelined by her employer and faced with the inaction of 3M, which claimed that its masks were approved and therefore perfectly safe, this whistleblower turned to the French National Commission on Ethics and Alerts in Public Health and the Environment (cnDAspe). The latter opened an inquiry in December 2020 (see its Alert 133).
The cnDAspe informed the Direction Générale du Travail (DGT) – the French supervisory authority with jurisdiction over PPE – which, after investigation, published a notice in October 2021. This states that 3M has modified the usage instructions for Proflow asbestos masks and has been fitting them with a low airflow indicator since July 2020. The notice prohibited the use of masks without this device.
As a result of the alert passed on by the ETUC, the Dutch Trade Union Confederation (FNV) recommended to all users in the Netherlands to immediately stop working with 3M Proflow asbestos masks manufactured before introduction of the airflow indicator.
At a recent meeting held by the FNV with 3M’s Benelux managers, in which one of the ETUI’s experts was able to participate, the manufacturer firmly denied any quality problems potentially affecting its asbestos protective masks. However, many questions remained unanswered: what had happened to the Proflow asbestos masks without the airflow indicator ? Were they still in use? Had they been recalled by the manufacturer throughout Europe? What was the precision of the airflow indicator ? What about the alarm (apart from those for clogged filters or low battery level) warning a user of a possible drop in airflow below 160 L/min during mask use?
With the cnDAspe and DGT inquiries ongoing, it is recommended that this alert be passed on to all asbestos workers using these masks on asbestos removal sites in Europe. Pending further information and in application of the precautionary principle, the FNV recommendations should be applied throughout Europe.
Dit is geen nieuw debat, maar het is opnieuw aan de orde gesteld door een wetsvoorstel van NVA-parlementslid Valerie Van Peel. De asbestslachtoffers, wanneer zij door het AFA (het Asbestfonds) schadeloos zijn gesteld, kunnen geen gerechtelijke stappen ondernemen tegen de persoon die verantwoordelijk is voor de schade, indien deze bekend is, om aanvullende schadevergoeding te verkrijgen. Er zijn verschillende redenen en historische gronden voor dit immuniteitssysteem, die in sommige gevallen gerechtvaardigd en in andere gevallen minder gerechtvaardigd zijn.
NVA-parlementslid Valerie Van Peel heeft een voorstel ingediend om deze immuniteit af te schaffen voor milieuasbestslachtoffers.
ABEVA steunde dit voorstel, op voorwaarde dat de huidige werking en financiering van de AFA niet zouden worden aangetast, zoals sommigen hadden gedreigd, naar onze mening met onjuiste argumenten (zie het advies van ABEVA in het bijgevoegde document). De sociale partners, bijeen in het kader van Fedris of de Nationale Arbeidsraad, waren ertegen, met argumenten die al oud waren (zie hun advies in het bijgevoegde document)
De Commissie sociale zaken van het Parlement heeft op dinsdag 17 mei 2022 een vergadering gehouden tijdens welke deze tekst is besproken en verworpen.
De volledige video-opname van het debat, met taalkeuze, is te vinden op de volgende link
http://www.dekamer.be/media/index.html?language=nl&sid=55U2878 ( Het debat begint op 43'15'' van de video)
Bronnen:
https://fr.asbestfonds.be/statistieken
https://fr.asbestfonds.be/statistieken?lightbox=dataItem-krkinwme
nota: het jaarverslag van FEDRIS bevat ook een AFA-passage:
https://fedris.be/sites/default/files/assets/FR/Statistiques/Statistische_jaarverslagen_BZ/rapport_statistique_2019.pdf blz. 210-213.
Er zijn echter weinig statistische gegevens (verdeling over leeftijdsgroepen, beroepen (met uitzondering van de grote sectoren), uitgaven, budgetten, uitgaven voor preventie, enz.)
1) Sinds haar oprichting in 2007 heeft de AFA 3.652 slachtoffers schadeloos gesteld, waaronder 2.707 mesothelioomgevallen, 322 asbestosegevallen, 548 bilaterale diffuse pleuraverdikkingen en, sinds 2020 (na de wetswijziging waarvoor de ABEVA heeft gestreden), 71 gevallen van longkanker en 4 gevallen van larynxkanker