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The use of asbestos was banned in all twenty-five Member States of the European Union as of January 1, 2005. Unfortunately, the repercussions of a hundred years of widespread asbestos use remain in contaminated national infrastructures, the environment and the lungs of European men and women. It has been estimated that in the current thirty-five year period, a quarter of a million men could die in Western Europe from mesothelioma, a type of asbestos cancer. These deaths are occurring in countries, many of which had regulations to minimise hazardous occupational exposures.
A European Asbestos Conference, organised by the GUE/NGL group and the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) took place on September 22 & 23, 2005 in the European Parliament in Brussels.
Speaking at the European Asbestos Conference, MEP Kartika Liotard (Netherlands) called for a reinvigoration of the campaign for a global asbestos ban and said it was "time for the EU to draw a line under the asbestos scandal once and for all and time for effective and coordinated action on this issue."
Opened on September 22 by GUE/NGL Group President Francis Wurtz who highlighted the fact that, throughout the world, 100 000 workers die every year from diseases caused by unwitting exposure to the deadly substance, participants at the conference included anti-asbestos campaign groups, MEPs, trade unionists, scientists, victim groups, environmental NGOs and national politicians.
As the primary carcinogenic toxin affecting workers in Europe, GUE/NGL MEP Roberto Musacchio (Italy) stressed the global nature of the problem and the necessity to tackle it at a UN level. Speaking about the issue as it affects Ireland, Bairbre de Brún MEP, stressed that "asbestos is a problem for the present and future – not just the past!" while Cypriot MEP Adamou Adamos spoke of the need to ensure proper implementation of relevant EU Directives in the de-contamination of buildings.
While the use of asbestos was banned in all EU Member States from January 1, 2005, EU citizens are still threatened by potentially dangerous exposure to the substance. Dimitris Papadimoulis MEP said that the lack of statistics on its presence in public and private buildings was central to the asbestos problem in Greece which was once one of the biggest world asbestos producers.
The conference declaration calls for 2005-2006 to be designated the Year of Action on Asbestos and demands that the EU and especially the European Parliament work towards devising a European Asbestos Action Plan.
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