By 2032, harmful asbestos should be gone from millions of rooftops, garages and outbuildings. In 2022, the Supreme Audit Office warned that at this rate it would take another 60 years to remove asbestos. It is not even known what the extent of the problem is, since a complete inventory of buildings covered with eternite has never been carried out.
We have known for many years that asbestos is a harmful substance and contributes to the development of asbestosis, lung disease and cancer. This asbestos effect is the result of inhaling airborne fibers (asbestos dust) that are invisible to the human eye. The threat is often underestimated due to the microscopic size of the fibers and the long and latent development of diseases.
Asbestos. It is not known how many rooftops it was placed on.
Asbestos was once widely used for roofing. About a dozen years ago, large-scale removal of asbestos cement from residential and farm buildings began, but given that there are millions of smaller and larger houses, estates, garages, the scale of the problem is enormous. Unprotected asbestos sheets are harmful, even if they just lie on the roof. Rain washes away the cement binder, exposing bundles of asbestos fibers, splits and is released into the environment. The more damaged the roof, the more fibers break out.
A complete inventory of buildings in which asbestos has been used has never been carried out. However, it is estimated that about 15.5 million tons of products contain it. Only asbestos roofing materials, there are about 1.5 billion. m2. Half of the existing asbestos was used in individual construction.
On June 19, 1997, the Asbestos Prohibition Act was passed. As of March 28, 1999, asbestos trade has been banned. It has been operating in EU countries since 2005. The National Asbestos Removal Program for 2009-2032 is currently being implemented. According to the Decree of the Minister of Economy of December 13, 2010, the use of this material in Poland is allowed until December 31, 2032. However, compliance with this deadline seems unlikely.
The Ombudsman reminds Minister Bude of the asbestos problem
The Ombudsman drew the Minister of Development’s attention to the too slow “departure from asbestos”. He explained that he was receiving complaints from building owners who would like to replace the asbestos roofs but do not have the funds to do so, as well as from people who live near such buildings and are adversely affected. This exposes the problem of not being able to oblige the owner to remove the asbestos item unless it is assessed as urgent and the owner does not remove it himself.
Such a decision is often the result of a lack of funds for repairs and depends on the individual beliefs of the owners or property managers.
In the current legal status, the assessment of the condition and possibility of safe use is carried out by the owner, permanent usufructuary or administrator of real estate, as well as of an object, construction equipment, industrial structure or other place containing asbestos - this results from the Decree of the Minister of Economy, Labor and Social Policy of 2 April 2004 on methods and conditions for the safe use and disposal of asbestos-containing products.
NIK also criticizes the pace of asbestos removal
The Supreme Audit Office also analyzed the rate of roofing removal using asbestos. Analysis of NIK data allows us to conclude that if the current pace of implementation of the Program objectives is maintained, such products will be exported for at least 60 years - counting from the end of the National Asbestos Removal Program for 2009-2032.. In the first 12 years of the program, only 17 percent of files were deleted, according to NIK. asbestos products. And this applies only to inventory items. Their exact number is still unknown. According to 2009 estimates, 14.5 million tons of asbestos products have been registered.
According to NIK, the asbestos database maintained by the Ministry of Tourism and Tourism does not reflect the actual state of the quantity of asbestos products. In practice, this makes it impossible to properly control the implementation of the Program.
Source: Wprost
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