European Council votes in favour of lower limits for occupational exposure to asbestos

The Council formally adopted new rules on protecting workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work. This directive updates the existing rules in line with the latest scientific and technological developments.

The updated rules significantly lower the current asbestos limits and provide for more accurate ways to measure exposure levels to asbestos based on electron microscopy, a more modern and sensitive method.

They also provide for strengthened preventive and protective measures, such as obtaining special permits for asbestos removal and checking if there is asbestos in older buildings before starting demolition or maintenance work. That is all the more important given the EU’s goal to boost energy renovation in the EU, which could lead to 35 million buildings being renovated by 2030.

Asbestos is a highly dangerous substance and remains the leading cause of occupational cancer almost two decades after it was banned in the EU. With the new directive adopted today, thanks to the negotiations concluded by the Swedish presidency, we can better protect workers in the EU while safely embarking on a renovation wave to make our buildings greener and energy-efficient.

Yolanda Díaz Perez, acting Second Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Work and Social Economy

Exposure to pollution causes 10% of all cancer cases in Europe

Background and next steps

On 28 September 2022, the Commission published a proposal to revise the legislation on asbestos exposure in the workplace as part of a package aimed at ensuring an asbestos-free future for EU citizens. The Swedish Presidency of the Council reached a provisional agreement on the file with the European Parliament on 27 June 2023. The European Parliament plenary voted in favour of the updated rules on 3 October 2023.

This adoption by the Council is the last step in the legislative process. The new directive will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Member states will have two years to incorporate all provisions of the directive into their national legislation, except for the introduction of electron microscopy as a measuring method, for which they will have six years. At the end of those six years, they will also have to choose between two exposure limits (depending on whether or not they count thin fibres).

Source: Press release – Counil of the EU