WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2550/98 by Jesús CABEZÓN ALONSO to the Commission. Protection against asbestos
Date: 1998-09-01
Institutions: CABEZON ALONSO, European Parliament
Subjects: asbestos, carcinogenic substance, dangerous substance, health risk, occupational disease, occupational health, occupational safety, public health

21.5.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 142/23

(1999/C 142/027)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2550/98

by Jesús Cabezón Alonso (PSE) to the Commission

(1 September 1998)

Subject: Protection against asbestos

Which Member States are preventing the Council of Ministers from adopting legislative measures relating
to the protection of persons against asbestos?

Has the Commission any statistics for the last few years concerning deaths caused by the absorption of
asbestos in the workplace in each of the Member States?

Answer given by Mr Flynn on behalf of the Commission

(5 November 1998)

The Honourable Member is asked to refer to the replies given by the Commission to written questions P-
1451/98 by Mr Skinner (1), E-1742/98 by Mr Whitehead (2), E-1950/98 by Mrs Pollack (3), E-2736/98 by
Mrs Oddy (4) and P-2972/98 by Mr Skinner (5) on Community legislation, and measures in preparation,
concerning the protection of the health of workers and the public from the health effects of asbestos.

The Commission has no such statistics. In the framework of harmonising statistics on health and safety at
work and in particular on occupational diseases (EODS project), the Commission has launched a pilot
project on the possibilities for establishing comparable data on recognised cases of occupational diseases.
Data has been collected for the reference year 1995 with respect to 31 items chosen from the European
schedule of occupational diseases including asbestosis, mesothelioma following the inhalation of asbestos
dust and complication of asbestosis in the form of bronchial cancer. In total 6,698 cases of asbestos related
occupational diseases have been recognised in the Community in 1995. This Eurostat data base, however,
holds no information on the number of cases ending in death.

(1) OJ C 13, 18.1.1999, p. 34.
(2) OJ C 13, 18.1.1999, p. 75.
(3) OJ C 13, 18.1.1999, p. 123.
(4) OJ C 135, 14.5.1999, p. 108.
(5) See page 64.

(1999/C 142/028)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2564/98

by Irene Soltwedel-Schäfer (V) to the Commission

(1 September 1998)

Subject: Special category waste incineration plant in Biebesheim, Hesse, Germany

What is the situation in the various Member States of the EU regarding hazardous waste (special category
waste) with respect to:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

the amounts involved each year for the period 1993-1997?

existing or planned treatment and/or incineration capacities and landfill space?

free capacities in tonnes per year?

exports to other countries in tonnes per year?

imports from other countries in tonnes per year?

strategies to prevent or process waste (existing and/or planned)?

7. To what extent are there Commission directives, regulations or planned initiatives on avoiding special

waste in Europe?

8. To what extent are there Commission directives, regulations or planned initiatives on recycling

special waste in Europe?