While the UK has been busy updating its domestic legislation on asbestos, a proposal to revise the old 1983 EU asbestos at work directive has been working its way round the EU institutions. When the 1983 directive was introduced, asbestos was much more commonly used than at present. With the imposition of EU controls and the development of alternatives to its use, the risk of being exposed to asbestos at work has receded. In 1996 the Commission undertook an analysis of how the directive, amended in 1991, had been put into practice and considered whether it needed further updating. It concluded that the measures did still have a useful role to play but that the directive should only be completely revised in the event of a radical change in policy on the marketing of products containing asbestos, such as extending the ban on its uses.

In 1998 the Council of Ministers called upon the Commission to revise the directive regardless of any moves on the marketing and use of asbestos. The Economic and Social Committee and European Parliament's Committee for Employment and Social Affairs agreed. A year later the ban on chrysostile asbestos was extended (EHJ, September 1999, page 296). Four years on and the directive has finally been amended.

PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The basic components of the directive remain the same, namely that in any activities where workers are, or may be, exposed to asbestos dust in the course of their work, employers must assess that risk and take appropriate prevention and/or protective measures where necessary. Under the old directive workers in the sea and air transport sectors were not covered. This exemption has now been removed.

NOTIFICATIONS AND HEALTH ASSESSMENTS

The activities covered by the directive are subject to a notification system. The information to be provided by the employer to the competent authority is expanded under the revised directive. Previously, employers had to notify only the types and quantities of asbestos used, the activities and processes involved and the products manufactured. Now they must also notify the location of the work site, the number of workers involved, the starting date and duration of the work, and the measures taken to limit exposure. Under the old directive a new notification was required each time a change occurred in the use of asbestos or materials containing it. The revised directive requires a new notification whenever a change in working conditions is likely to result in a significant increase in exposure.

As well as notifying the competent authority, employers must list relevant workers in a register, arrange an assessment of their health prior to the start of exposure and at least once every three years for as long as exposure continues. The revised directive allows for the doctor or medical authority in question to additionally indicate that surveillance must continue for as long as they consider it necessary to safeguard the health of the worker. The required components of health assessment are reworded slightly. Thus "clinical examination of the chest" becomes "a general clinical examination with particular reference to the chest" and the "respiratory function examination" becomes "lung function tests (respiratory flow volumes and rates)". Medical records must be kept for at least 40 years after the end of exposure - the 1983 directive required 30 years.

EXPOSURE LIMIT AND MEASUREMENT METHOD

The directive sets an exposure limit for airborne concentrations of asbestos, above which no worker must be exposed. This limit is 0.1 fibres per cm3 as an eight-hour time weighted average (TWA). Where worker exposure is sporadic and of low intensity and where it is clear that the limit will not be exceeded in the air of the working area, the notification, registration and health assessment requirements may be waived in certain circumstances, eg where the work involves short, non-continuous maintenance activities in which only non-friable materials are handled or where it involves the encapsulation of, or sealing of materials which are in good condition. In order to comply with the exposure limit, regular measurements of asbestos fibres in the air must be conducted. The revised directive requires this to be done wherever possible by PCM (phase-contrast microscope) in accordance with the 1997 WHO recommended method1 or any other method giving equivalent results.

For all activities where exposure may occur, that exposure must be reduced to a minimum (the old directive requires reduction to as low a level as is reasonably practical) and in any case to below the limit value. The directive list the ways in which this can be done, eg, reducing the number of workers exposed, designing processes to prevent the production of dust, use of suitable, sealed storage and transport methods etc.

Where the limit value is exceeded, remedial measures must be taken as soon as possible and work must stop until protection measures are in place. In situations where exposure above the limit value cannot be reduced, protective equipment must be worn. The revised directive adds a clause to say that where this happens, workers must be allowed to take breaks.

A new clause in the directive requires employers to take all necessary steps to identify materials presumed to contain asbestos before beginning any demolition or maintenance work. In activities such as demolition, removal, repair and maintenance in which the exposure limit will be exceeded in the foreseeable future, the spread of dust arising from asbestos or materials containing it outside the premises or the site of action must be prevented. The old rule about removing asbestos before demolition techniques are applied is qualified to say that this must not be done where this would cause a greater risk to workers than leaving it in place.

The existing directive prohibits the spraying of asbestos and procedures using low-density insulating or soundproofing materials containing asbestos. This is now extended to prohibit activities, which expose workers to asbestos fibres during the extraction of asbestos, the manufacture and processing of asbestos products, or the manufacture and processing of products containing intentionally added asbestos. The only exception is the treatment and disposal of products resulting from demolition and asbestos removal.

TRAINING

Employers must provide regular, appropriate and free training for all workers who are, or who are likely to be exposed to asbestos-containing dust. This training must include elements such as the heath effects of asbestos, safe work practices, emergency and decontamination procedures and waste disposal. Practical guidelines for the training of asbestos removal workers will be developed at EU level. Firms carrying out asbestos demolition or removal work must provide evidence of their competence in accordance with national requirements. The implementation date for the revised directive is 15 April 2006.

Directive 2003/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 March 2003 amending Council Directive 83/477/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work. OJ L 97. 15.04.03 pp 48-52.

References

1. A recommended method, by phase-contrast optical microscopy (membrane filter method), WHO, Geneva 1997 (ISBN 92 4 154496 1).