The numbers are dramatic: In the EU, a good 70,000 workers die every year because they have come into contact with the carcinogenic insulating material asbestos – often decades ago. Four out of five cancer cases related to occupational hazards are related to asbestos. And more than 220 million homes in the EU were built before the 2005 asbestos ban. In many of them, the deadly mineral fibers could be hiding further in walls. If they are released during renovations, there is a danger to life. The EU Commission presented the data on Wednesday in Brussels – together with a draft law intended to reduce the risks.
Accordingly, the authority wants the limit set in 2009 tightened by a factor of ten: Employees, such as construction workers, may then be exposed to a maximum of 0.01 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter of room air. So far, the EU limit is 0.1 fibers. However, Germany already voluntarily prescribes the stricter limit of 0.01. After the tightening, workers in other EU countries with more lax rules would have to wear protective clothing and breathing masks more often or better, and protective films would have to prevent the fibers from spreading.
The European Parliament demanded a year ago in one resolution even to lower the limit by a factor of one hundred. EU Social Affairs Commissioner Nicolas Schmit now says that the EU “can really reduce the risk by a factor of ten”. At even smaller values, it might be difficult to measure compliance accurately; At the same time, the costs for companies would rise sharply, the Luxembourg social democrat explained in an interview with the SZ and two other international media. This does not convince the European trade union confederation ETUC. Its deputy chief, Claes-Mikael Ståhl, complains that the commission has “unfortunately taken the side of business” in the dispute between science and business lobbyists over the correct upper limit.
As long as asbestos is securely sealed in walls, there is no danger. But many old apartments that were built before the ban on use are to be renovated in the coming years in order to improve the thermal insulation. After all, buildings account for 40 percent of the EU’s energy consumption. Therefore, two years ago, the Commission set the goal of doubling the annual renovation rate by 2030 as a contribution to the ambitious climate protection goals. The rapid increase in gas prices is fueling demand for such renovations. But more renovations mean a greater risk of releasing asbestos.
States should create a registry of asbestos homes
The Commission estimates that the stricter limit will prevent more than 600 cancer cases in the EU over the years. Commissioner Schmit says that “no responsible company will consciously expose its employees to this risk” anyway. “But unfortunately there could also be less responsible companies that don’t care about this danger and can therefore offer cheaper products,” he says. In order to avoid “unfair competition”, the EU is now prescribing the stricter limit value.
However, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, the body of EU governments, still have to deal with the amendment to the law. In the coming year, the Brussels authority will propose another legal act that will force member states to systematically examine the housing stock for asbestos and to set up a register that records risky buildings. “In order to prevent a release, you first have to know that there is asbestos in a building,” says Schmit.
In addition to the asbestos initiative, the Luxembourger presented a number of non-binding recommendations on Wednesday as to how member states should improve their social welfare systems. 95 million EU citizens – one in five – are considered to be at risk of poverty. Among other things, the Commission now sets the target that by 2030 all member states will increase social assistance amounts to an “appropriate level”.
Schmit rejects an unconditional basic income
The benefits should be appropriate if, for example, they lift citizens above the threshold below which people are considered at risk of poverty. This limit is 60 percent of the median income in the respective state – in Germany a good 1100 euros per month for singles. According to Schmit, only the Dutch social welfare system in the EU achieves this 60 percent. At the same time, governments should try harder to get the unemployed back into jobs, through incentives in the tax and welfare systems and through training. Just transferring money isn’t enough, Schmit warns – and complains that the social security authorities in some countries are “in bad shape” and are doing too little for integration.
The idea of a unconditional basic income, which is also being discussed in Germany, is rejected by the Social Democrat. “People receive money regardless of whether they want a job or not. And nobody cares about reintegrating these people into the labor market,” complains Schmit. “I’m strictly against that.”