EU ministers agree new asbestos protection directive

06 June 2002 12:53  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (CNI)--European Union (EU) ministers have reached a political agreement on a new directive providing for the protection of workers from the risks of asbestos exposure at work.

The measure is expected to be formally adopted by the EU Council at its next meeting and will then be considered by the European Parliament. 

The new directive stipulates that no worker may be exposed to an airborne concentration of asbestos in excess of 0.1 fibres per cubic centimetre as an eight hour time-weighted average.

The proposal, which is a revision of a directive dating from 1977, replaces the existing two value limits with a single one.

Asbestos is used as an insulating material in many chemical plants.

By: Alan Osborn
+44 208 652 3214

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