Asbestos kills 100 000 workers a year worldwide, according to the International Labour Office (ILO). About 40 countries have eliminated the use of asbestos, but in several countries it is still used e.g. in the construction industry. Some two million tons of asbestos is produced annually

On 1st September the European Asbestos Campaign 2006 for information and supervision has been launched by the EU Commission and SLIC - the co-ordinating committee of Member States Labour Inspectorates. Using uniform checklists, in all member states data about the implementation and surveillance of the European Asbestos Directive are collected. Main focus of the campaign is removal work of weakly-bound asbestos, maintenance and removal work for asbestos cement and other tightly-bound asbestos products and waste disposal. The Finish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health invited to a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, which was the starting point of the campaign.

The European Asbestos Campaign 2006 started on 1st September and is now uniformly conducted in all Member States.

For more information see the websites of the European Commission and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.