Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-05-07-Speech-4-033"
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"−
Mr President, honourable Members, first of all may I apologise on behalf of my colleagues, Vice-President Verheugen and Mr Dimas, who unfortunately cannot be here this morning to take part in this debate. I know that Mr Verheugen has had intensive and fruitful discussions with the rapporteur, Mr Sacconi, whom I should like to thank for his excellent work – I say this on a personal level, too.
There are detailed requirements concerning the process for the disposal and landfill of asbestos; for instance, the storage area must be re-covered each day and before each compaction operation. The landfill must be re-covered by a final layer in order to prevent the dispersion of fibres. Measures must be taken to prevent any possible use of the land after the closure of the landfill. Any potential exports of asbestos fibres are regulated under Regulation (EC) No 689/2008, and, since 2005, there has been only one notified case of asbestos fibres being exported from the European Union to a third country.
Moreover, the asbestos-related decisions appearing in Annex XVII of REACH are set to ban the manufacture of asbestos fibres within the European Union, which means that exports will be ruled out. Waste containing asbestos is hazardous waste. The Basel Convention and Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 on shipments of waste prohibit the export of asbestos waste to countries not belonging to the OECD. As regards shipments between Member States of the European Union and of the OECD, they are subject to a prior written notification and consent procedure.
To conclude, and in the light of these points, I can assure you that the Commission will examine whether there are grounds to propose other legislative measures on the controlled disposal of asbestos fibres and on the decontamination or disposal of equipment containing asbestos fibres, which go beyond the legislation in force, both for the management of waste and for the protection of workers.
Mr President, honourable Members, as regards the list of articles containing asbestos, which may be authorised on the second-hand market, it is not yet available – to answer Mr Sacconi’s question immediately – but the Commission does plan to review the situation in 2011 in order to draw up a harmonised list valid throughout the European Union. I therefore hope I have met your request.
The Commission fully subscribes to the objective of the human health and environment professions, on the one hand, by preventing all exposure to asbestos, and, on the other, by working on a total ban on the use of asbestos, in all its forms.
Within the European Union there are very strict regulations on the placing on the market, use, export and disposal of asbestos fibres. The placing on the market and use of all asbestos fibres have already been banned outright by Directive 1999/77/EC.
As far as other uses are concerned, the Member States may permit the use of a form of chrysotile asbestos in electrolysis installations that were already in service in 1999 until they reach the end of their service life and suitable asbestos-free substitutes are provided.
Four Member States use this derogation. A review in 2006-2007 showed that all workplace exposure limits were respected and that there was no alternative available at the time for some very specific processes. This existing limit will be incorporated in Annex XVII to the REACH regulation, and the derogation for diaphragms containing chrysotile will be reviewed again in 2011.
In June 2011 the Member States will have to report on their efforts to develop chrysotile-free diaphragms, on the measures taken to protect workers, and on the sources and the quantities of chrysotile used. The Commission will then ask the European Chemicals Agency to examine the information sent with a view to abolishing this derogation.
Directive 87/217/EEC on the prevention and reduction of environmental pollution by asbestos provides for measures to control asbestos emissions during certain demolition, decontamination and disposal operations in order to ensure that those activities do not cause pollution by asbestos fibres or dust.
Directive 83/477/EEC, as amended by Directive 2003/18/EC, on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work, contains a series of measures to ensure adequate protection of the health of workers, where the latter are exposed to risks linked to exposure to asbestos fibres. Companies must provide evidence of their ability to carry out demolition or asbestos removal work. Prior to the demolition or asbestos removal work, they must draw up a plan specifying the measures needed to ensure that workers are not exposed to an asbestos-in-air concentration of more than 0.1 asbestos fibres per cm
during an average eight-hour shift.
Framework Directive 2006/12/EC on waste and Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, in concert with the Council decision on the criteria for waste acceptable in landfills, oblige the Member States to provide for the controlled disposal of asbestos fibres and equipment containing asbestos fibres. The Member States must ensure that the waste is recovered or destroyed without endangering human health and without requiring the use of processes or methods that could harm the environment."@en1
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