Capacity Building for Banning and Phasing out
Asbestos in West Balkan Countries
www.NOforASBESTOS.net
Project funded by European Union
Implemented by: Gauss Institute Bitola
ARC Fund Sofia
Heliks Belgrade
EKOPOT Tuzla
ARC FUND – Sofia
BULGARIAN EXPERIENCE IN THE HARMONISATION OF NATIONAL
LEGISLATION ON ASBESTOS WITH THE 2003/18/ЕC AND 2009/148/ЕС
EUROPEAN DIRECTIVES ON ASBESTOS
This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of ARC Fund - Sofia and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union
2
INTRODUCTION
Asbestos fibers (chrysotile, asbestos antophylite, asbestos tremolite, asbestos
actinolite, asbestos amosite, crocidolite) are naturally occuring mineral products with a
number of valuable technical properties (inflammability, high thermal and chemical
resistance, flexibility, ability to be subdivided into fine fibers). Their industrial
implementation dates back to the beginning of the 20th
century and has been intensively
developing during seven decades with constant expansion of the volume and range of
production and intended use of asbestos articles. The valuable physical and chemical
properties of asbestos have provided for its growing demand. At the early 80s more than 3
thousand asbestos-containing types of products with numerous applications were known
(asbestos raw materials, low-density composite substances made of free asbestos fibers and
cement, perlite, textile materials, papers, cardboards and high-density products of chemically
bonded or moulded asbestos fibers with cement or polymer particles).
Low-density asbestos products are widely used for:
- fireproof, thermal/noise/hydro and electrical insulations for industrial and
construction applications (cottons, mattresses, sprayed coatings and squirted
skins, pre-formed shells, blocks and segments);
- filters in the chemical and food and drink industries (filter sheets)
- pump and compressor seals, steam pipe and fittings gaskets used in the chemical
and petrochemical industries, in thermal power plants and brake belts for rope-
way facilities, traction engines, dredging shovels, etc. (asbestos yarns, ropes,
cloths);
- Acoustic insulations and fire insulations used in air-conditioning lines, ceiling
and wall sheetings, etc. (asbestos cardboards and papers)
High-density asbestos products are produced and used in large volumes for:
- construction materials for roof structures, interior walls and outwalls, light space
frames, sandwich panels, gutters, gas mains and for water-conduit, sewerage and
hydromeliorative networks and installations, etc. (asbestos-cement boards,
panels, pipes and connectors);
- brake linings in motor vehicles, friction blocks and profiles in machine building,
brake rings for electric hoists, conveyor and fan belts, etc. (asbestos-based
friction materials);
- flange-mounted fittings of pipe mains, boilers, hoods and others in thermal
power plants, chemical and machine-building plants, in ship building and for
insulation in electric installations (Paronite, Clingerite, Beldamite, Marcite,
Asbestos, Navilite, Thermax boards, etc.)
- hydroinsulation construction materials (roofing felts, waterproof oilskins) and
gasket and sealing putties (bituminous products);
- flooring (PVC and vinyl tiles, linoleums padded with asbestos paper, etc.)
Asbestos is a likely ingredient of all fireproof and incombustible materials which have
been produced or implemented before 1990, although its presence is often unknown to the
user.
During the 40-year intensive development of the asbestos industry there have
consecutively been evidenced asbestos-related health hazards for workers, i.e. lung
asbestosis, pleural hyalinosis, pleural and peritoneal tumors. Special concern has been raised
by the more frequently observed lung cancer as a complication for asbestosis patients. Lung
disorders are caused by asbestos fibres which are enhaled and precipitated in the respiratory
organs, but symptoms occur after the elapse of a long period (more than 15 to 20 years) since
the initial contact with asbestos powder. It is expected that until 2030 there shall be about
3
500,000 persons afflicted by malignant diseases among the contingency of exposed to work
with asbestos before 1995 in Western European countries (Germany, United Kingdom,
France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden). Pulmonary and pleural asbestosis and
mesotheliomas are detected also in persons who have had no professional contact with the
mineral, among the population in regions adjacent to mining and processing enterprises for
asbestos and asbestos-containing materials and articles as well as in regions with natural
asbestos-bearing soils which are available in our country as well as in other countries abroad.
ACTIVITIES FOR PREVENTION OF THE RISK RELATED TO THE EXPOSURE
TO ASBESTOS ON EUROPEAN AND WORLD LEVEL
Prevention of asbestos-related risks has been an immediate and topical polestar of
activities in the Western European countries, Canada and the USA for more than 30 years.
The first step in this direction has been the development and adoption under national statutory
instruments of a methodology for hygienic evaluation of airborne asbestos dust (standard
quotas for the numerical concentration of asbestos fibres and a method for microscopic
measurement of the concentration in the air at the place of work) in the United Kingdom
(1969), Canada (1969), USA (1972), Germany (1976).
The gravity and the social significance of the asbestos problem have initiated the
undertaking of coordinated actions on international level, since the 80s of the past century,
and made it a problem of concern for standing expert groups at the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) and the International Union Against Cancer.
At its 72nd
session held in June 1986, the General Conference of ILO adopted
Convention No C162/86 concerning the occupational safety in the use of asbestos in all
branches of economic activity. Article 10 of the Convention stipulates that one or more of the
following measures shall be provided by national laws and regulations:
“replacement of asbestos or of certain types of asbestos or products containing
asbestos by other materials or products or the use of alternative technology,
scientifically evaluated by the competent authority as harmless or less harmful,
whenever this is possible”;
“total or partial prohibition of the use of asbestos or of certain types of asbestos or
products containing asbestos in certain work processes”. The use of asbestos and
asbestos-containing products shall be permitted “when replacement is not reasonably
practicable, provided that steps are taken to ensure that the health of workers is not
placed at risk.”
Within the European Union, by a series of documents has been adopted a complex
approach to solving the problem by gradually restricting the volume and range of asbestos
outputs and the use of asbestos products for the sake of their replacement by less
dangerous substitutes, on the one hand, and by strengthening the stringence of preventive
measures to minimize the risk of occupational exposure and to protect the ambient
environment from asbestos pollution, on the other hand.
Under a package of EU directives (Directive 83/478/ЕЕС, Directive 85/610/ЕЕС
and Directive 91/659/ЕЕС) a prohibition on the use of crocidolite and other types
of amphibole asbestos and a step-by-step restriction of the marketing and use of
chrysotile and chrysotile-containing products has been consistently introduced. In
1999, the Economic and Social Committee of the European Union issued an
opinion (1999/C 138/09) on the ban of the use of chrysotile and its replacement by
alternative substitutes. In relation to the use of synthetic mineral fibres as a
substitute to asbestos the opinion stresses on the available experimental data
regarding the specific biological effects of some of the products from the synthetic
4
fibre group. It is recommended that toxicological and epidemiological
investigation of these materials shall be initiated as well as development of new
technologies for manufacture of safer synthetic-fibre products. In the same year,
Directive 1999/77/EC introduced a total prohibition on the marketing and use of
asbestos on the territory of the European Union as of 1 January 2005. In order for
the materials of artificial fibre minerals to be classified within the group of
probable carcinogens, a package of physical and chemical parameters and
experimental testing of the biological impacts of mineral-fibre powders has been
adopted under Directive 97/69/EC.
In 1983, Directive 83/477/EEC harmonised common limit values for exposure to
asbestos within the European Union, as well as technical-preventive,
organisational and health surveillance measures, instruments and means for
protection of workers against exposure to asbestos, which have been subsequently
amended to strengthen the stringency of requirements (Directive 91/382/EEC,
Directive 2003/18/EC).
Review of the developments of European legislation related to Directive 83/477/EEC is
presented in Table 1 below:
TABLE 1
Document and
enforcement
Date of
enforcement
Deadline for transposition into
the national legistlation of
Member States
Official Journal
Directive 83/477/EEC 22 September
1983
1 January 1987
1 January 1990 (in the case of
asbestos-mining activities)
OJ L 263 of 24
September 1983
Amending Documents:
Directive 91/382/ЕЕС 4 July 1991 1 January 1993
1 January 1996 (in the case of
asbestos-mining activities)
1 January 1999 (for Greece)
OJ L 206
of 29 July 1991
Directive 98/24/ЕС 25 May 1998 5 May 2001 OJ L 131
of 5 May 1998
Directive 2003/18/ЕC 15 April 2003 14 April 2006 OJ L 97
of 15 April 2003
Directive 2007/30/ЕС 20 June 2007 31 December 2007 OJ L 165
of 27 June 2007
Directive 2009/148/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009
on the protection of workers against the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work (text
with EEA relevance) codifies Directive 83/447/EEC and all its subsequent amendments and
introduces only formal amendments necessary for the codification, the clarification and the
rationalisation of the reports on the practical implementation of the Directive, which do not
modify the law and the practical implementation of national legislation in force.
Directive 2007/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2007
amended Council Directive 89/391/EEC, its individual Directives and Council Directives
83/477/EEC, 91/383/EEC, 92/29/EEC and 94/33/EC with a view to simplifying and
rationalising the reports on practical implementation (text with EEA relevance). Every five
years, the Member States shall submit a report on the practical implementation of the
Directive. The first report should cover the period 2007 – 2012.
5
Directives 83/447/EEC and 91/382/EEC focus on the limit values for exposure to asbestos
at work and on the manufacture of asbestos-containing products. As later these activities have
practically been banned, the repealing versions focused on the demolition and removal of
asbestos. The differences between Directive 83/447/EEC and Directive 2003/18/EC might
be summarized as follows:
1. Directive 2003/18/EC spans to cover the derogations applicable to sea and air transport
sectors provided in Directive 83/477/EEC
2. Directive 2003/18/EC introduces a ban on all activities which expose workers to asbestos
during the extraction of asbestos or the manufacture and processing of products containing
intentionally added asbestos fibres, with the exception of the treatment and disposal of
products resulting from demolition and removal of asbestos.
3. The set in the old directive separate limit values for dust in the air at the place of work
arising from asbestos fibres like chrysotile (0,6 fibre per cm3) and amphibole asbestos (0,3
fibre per cm3) have been dropped out and replaced by the several times stricter limit value of
0,1 fibres per cm3 as a time-weighted average for airborne concentration of all types of
asbestos. If this limit value is exceeded, it is necessary to identify the reasons for that and to
take appropriate measures to remedy the situation. The effectiveness of the measures
undertaken shall be substantiated before the work resumes.
4. The employers should ensure appropriate training for workers which shall comprise
themes like the properties of asbestos and its effects on health, the types of asbestos-
containing products, the operations resulting in asbestos exposure, the preventive measures
that are in place in order to minimise the exposure to asbestos, the safe work practices, the
requirements to personal protective measures and equipment, the due medical examinations,
the procedures for decontamination and waste disposal.
5. In case the workers‟ exposure is sporadic and of low intensity, and the exposure limit value
is not exceeded, it is not required to submit a notification, to assess the workers‟ health and to
carry out a continued medical surveillance, as well as to keep a register thereto.
Annexes: The two annexes to the old directive have been amended as follows:
Annex I, describing the recommended reference method for the measurement of
asbestos in the air at the place of work has been deleted.
Annex II, addressing the practical recommendations for the clinical assessment of
workers, has been updated by Directive 2003/18/EC.
In 1987, Directive 87/217/EEC has been adopted on the prevention and reduction of
environmental pollution by asbestos, which provides the limit values for asbestos
emitted into the ambient air through sources in place and the method for their
measurement; the limit values for content of suspended matter in aqueous effluents,
discharged by asbestos processing plants and the method for its analysis, as well as
the disposal of waste therefrom. For the provisions related to occupational safety, the
Directive refers to Directive 83/477/EEC.
Intensive work has been done also in relation to the improvement of the analytical
method for determination of the numerical concentration of fine asbestos fibres. The active
collaboration between the International Labour Office (ILO), the International Organisation
for Standardisation (ISO), the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), the
International Fibre Safety Group (IFSG) and the USA National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) has led to the development of a reference method for
measurement of the concentrations of respirable fibres in the air, based on membrane filter
sampling using phase-contrast optical microscopy, which has been further enhanced into
several modifications:
6
NIOSH Method 7400. Revision 3 (1989)
WHO, Geneva, 1997, Determination of airborne fibre number concentrations. A
recommended method, by phase-contrast optical microscopy (membrane filter
method).
ISO 8672 (1993), Determination of the numeric concentrations of airborne inorganic
fibre by phase-contrast optical microscopy. Membrane filter method.
HISTORY OF THE ASBESTOS PROBLEM IN BULGARIA
Manufacture and use of asbestos
The history of the manufacture and use of asbestos in Bulgaria on an industrial scale
is brief, its offset dating back in the early 70s of the twentieth century.
The significant manufacture and use of asbestos products during the period 1960-
1990, performed at low engineering and technological level of dust prevention, as well as the
numerous, for the Bulgarian scale, population segment (25 000 people) working in contact
with asbestos, delineated the occupational and hygienic aspect of the problem.
The annual asbestos consumption in Bulgaria by 1980 is presented in Table 2.
Chrysotile is an input in asbestos-cement products (pipes, boards, panels), in asbestos-perlite
insulation shells, blocks, segments, in asbestos textile articles (ropes, cords, fillings, cloths),
in squirted insulations of industrial equipment, in friction products, in pressed materials for
electrical engineering purposes, in diaphragm cells for electrolysis in the chemical industry.
TABLE 2. ANNUAL ASBESTOS CONSUMPTION IN BULGARIA (1980)
Kind of asbestos
Annual usage (tonnes)
Chrysotile
32000
(imported mainly from Russia and Canada)
Crocidolite
1000
(imported from South Africa)
Anthophylite, tremolite 7000 (Bulgarian production)
Crocidolite is used as an ingredient in some types of asbestos-cement pipes. The
Bulgarian raw asbestos material is an input in pipeline plumber soils and insulation cements
for turbines, furnaces, etc. in the power industry and metallurgy. The manufacture of
Bulgarian asbestos and the basic asbestos-containing products, as well as the number of
relevant enterprises are presented in Table 3.
TABLE 3. BULGARIAN PRODUCTION (1980)
Kind of production Number of the plants
Mining of deposits of:
antophylite
and tremolite
3 (for deep mining)
2 (for strip mining)
Initial processing of the raw material 2
Manufacture of asbestos-cement 6
Manufacture of asbestos perlite 1
Manufacture of asbestos textile materials 1
Manufacture of friction materials 1 plant and several workshops
Manufacture of pressed materials 3 - 4 workshops
7
A wide variety of ready-made imported asbestos articles are used in the country
together with the Bulgarian products (Table 4).
TABLE 4. USE OF IMPORTED ASBESTOS PRODUCTS (1980)
Kind of the industry
Asbestos products
Chemical and food processing
stock filters
Ship-building, chemical industry,
power industry
insulation and fitting materials, some of them
containing amosite (navilite, marinite)
Medical Surveillance of Workers Exposed to Asbestos in Bulgaria
Regulation of the medical surveillance and prevention of occupational diseases related
to exposure to asbestos has been introduced in Bulgarian legislation since 1973 (Ordinance
No 3 on Preliminary and Periodical Medical Examinations of Workers).
A system for medical surveillance of workers‟ exposures has been established, which
comprises 8 regional surveillance and diagnostics prevention service units and a Centre for
occupational diseases as a nation-wide methodological and consultative body. The
diagnostics of asbestos-induced pulmonary diseases is carried out by dedicated diagnostics
commissions for occupational lung disorders, members of which are experts in pulmonary
and occupational diseases and occupational medicine, who are familiar with the ILO
International Radiological Classification of Pneumoconioses of 1980.
Diagnostic criteria for asbestosis, asbestos induced pleural thickenings and pleural
plaques:
Obligatory criteria:
Five and more years of work environment exposure to asbestos or asbestos containing
dust.
Duration of asbestos dust exposure for 5 and more years
Duration of the latency period to appearance of asbestosis - 10 and more years from the
beginning of asbestos exposure
X-ray findings of s, t, and s/t small irregular opacities of Category 2/1 to 3/3+ on anterior-
posterior conventional chest radiography in cases with asbestosis
Pleural fibrosis and pleural plaques on chest x-ray in first oblique position
Low value of diffusion capacity (DLCO, DM) in cases with asbestosis
Low value of static ventilatory parameters (VC, FVC, TLC etc) in cases with advanced
asbestosis or pleural damages
Additional criteria:
t or s/t irregular opacities and subpleural curveline shadows on chest high resolution
computed tomography (HRCT), and pleural thickenings and pleural plaques on
conventional chest CT (accounted by Kraus et all. Classification for pneumoconiotic
findings on chest HRCT)
Pleural echography in cases with pleural thickenings, pleural plaques and pleural effusion
Perfusion scintigraphy in cases with asbestosis
Fibrobronchoscopy with transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB), pleural biopsy (PB) etc. in
difficult diagnosed cases with pulmonary or pleural impairments with histologycal and
mineralogical estimation.
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Diagnostic criteria for lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma:
Appearance of lung cancer in pulmonary area with asbestos induced pulmonary fibrosis,
estimated by TBLB
Malignant pleural mesothelioma in pleural fibrotic area or pleural hyalinosis estimated
according to PB
Asbestos bodies ore asbestos fibers in area of lung malignant process or pleural malignant
tumor.
Data on the registered occupational morbidity rate in asbestos exposure at work The data gathered over 15 years of consistent surveillance of 9142 workers during the
period 1967 – 1982 has revealed 206 afflicted with asbestosis and 492 cases of premorbid
status (1). Figure 1 indicates the structure of occupational morbidity rate of asbestosis until
1982. The insulation and power-engineering repair workers represent the highest relative
fraction (37%), followed by miners and workers engaged in primary processing of raw
asbestos materials (21%), workers in manufactures of asbestos cement (16%), asbestos
plastics (10%), asbestos textiles (6%) and other industries (10%). Within the group of
afflicted with pulmonary asbestosis, 5 cases of lung cancer have been registered.
The structure of asbestosis morbidity
rate up to 1982
37%
21%16%
10%
6%10%
insulation workers
miners
asbestos-cement
asbestos plastics
asbestos-textile
others
Figure 1
The number of newly established cases of asbestos-induced lung disorders is small
(11 ill people). Table 5 reveals tentative data for the overall number of afflicted with
asbestos-induced pulmonary asbestosis and cases of pleural asbestos-induced injuries during
the period 1980 – 2000.
TABLЕ 5 : TOTAL NUMBER OF PATIENTS WITH ASBESTOSIS, ASBESTOS INDUCED PLEURAL
THICKENINGS AND PLEURAL PLAQUES
Year
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
Total number of patients 161 136 201 196 193
These data can be reputed as underestimations, taking into account the great number
of workers exposed to asbestos. The data presumes the existence of high level of concealed
morbidity and affections, which is probably due to organisational, economic and legislative
reasons, as well as to the deficiency in the number of ad hoc experts.
9
During the 80s of the twentieth century, mesothelioma was very incidental country-
wide. For the occupationally exposed to crocidolite workers, mainly in asbestos cement
manufactures, it is expected that the developing of mesothelioma shall be manifested in 1%
to 4% of exposed workers after a period of latency of 20 to 40 years.
Table 6 illustrates the overall number of cases of malignant pleural mesothelioma in
Bulgaria in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1997.
TABLE 6. NUMBER OF NEWLY DIAGNOSED CASES AND INCIDENCE RATE OF MALIGNANT
PLEURAL MESOTHELIOMA PER 100 000 CAPITA BY SEX
1991 1992 1993 1997
m* f** total m* f** total m* f** total m* f** total
Number of
Cases 4 2 6 5 4 9 9 5 14 11 5 16
Incidence
Rate per
100 000
capita
0.09 0.04 0.07 0.12 0.09 0.11 0.22 0.12 0.17 0.27 0.12 0. 19
* male ** female
There is a clear trend of increase in the number, and in the incidence rates (IR) per 100000
capita. The absolute number and IR of mesothelioma cases prevail in male, rather than in
female population. Unfortunately, there is no information related to asbestos exposure in the
cases of newly diagnosed patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. However, the
prevalent number of such patients is from regions with industrial use of asbestos, which
presumes a possible interralation between the increasing number of sick people and the
occupational exposure to asbestos.
Methodology and System for Hygienic Control of Asbestos Dust in the Work
Environment
The hygienic standards for asbestos dust control in the work environment have been
introduced in 1977, on the basis of investigations performed in the USSR and Great Britain.
Their characteristic features are the set limit values both for the numerical concentration and
for the mass average shift concentration of asbestos fibres. Since then, the limit values have
been amended and improved on the basis of implemented hygiene and epidemiological
studies in the country to follow the worldwide trends by adopting the numerical standard
index for assessing the exposure to respirable asbestos fibres and by sustainable decrease of
the limit values (from 3 fibres/cm3 in 1997, to 2 fibres/cm
3 in 1987 and 1 fibre/cm
3 in 1992).
Since 2003, the standard limit values for numerical concentration of asbestor-fibres in
Bulgaria are equal to the ones set in the European Union: 0,6 fibres/cm3 for chrysotile, and
0,6 fibres/cm3 for amphibole asbestos, until in 2006 an rqual limit value of 0,1 fibres/cm
3 has
been set for all types of asbestos (Figure 2).
10
Figure 2
The control of the observance of the limit values for airborne asbestos dust in the
working environment has initially been implemented by stationary sampling.
The mass concentration of asbestos has been quantified in relation to the total dust
mass and its respirable fraction under the IR (spectral photometric) and XRD (X-ray
diffractometric) methods developed in Bulgaria.
For the purpose of measurement of the numeric concentration of respirable asbestos
fibres (l5 m, d 3 m, l/d 3) in the country, there has consecutively been studied, tested
and implemented, as a Bulgarian State Standard, the method using phase-contrast optical
microscopy (BSS 16909-89 „Airborne harmful substances in the working environmenr,
Assessment of the numerical concentration of asbestos fibres in heterogeneous asbestos-
containing dust‟).
In the period after 2000, in the course of harmonisation of Bulgarian legislation with
the EU legislation, a new strategy has been implemented for the sampling and evaluation of
air pollution under BSS EN689 („Workplace atmospheres; Guidance for the assessment of
exposure by inhalation to chemical agents for comparison with limit values and
measurements strategy‟), in which the primary role has been given to the measurement of
workers‟ exposure, rather than to the airborne concentrations at the workplace. In this
context, personal sampling has been prioritised. The Bulgarian standard method has been
updated to meet the requirements provided in the 1997 WHO reference method as well as the
validated and published in 1993 ISO standard (Methodology for assessing the numerical
concentration of airborne fibres by phase-contrast optical microscopy. Membrane filter
method, Collection of methods for hygienic surveys of the National Centre of Hygiene,
Medical Ecology and Nutrition, NCHMEN, 2000, Volume II)
The measurements for hygienic assessment of asbestos dust are carried out by the
specialised laboratories at the Hygiene and Epidemiological Inspectorates and by the
laboratory for solid particles in the working environment at the National Center of Hygiene,
Medical Ecology and Nutrition, which is the methodological consultative body of the
national network.
Until 1998, the control for compliance with the regulatory requirements for airborne
dust in the working environment has been conducted by the bodies of the State Sanitary
Control at the Ministry of Health.
TLV for chrysotile in Bulgaria
3
2
1
0,6 0,6
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
2,5
3
3,5
1977 1987 1992 2 001 CE
f/cm3
11
Data on the measurements of asbestos dust in the working environment (1977 – 1989)
Data on the implemented until 1989 measurements of asbestos dust in the working
environment indicate persistently higher average shift concentrations of fibres for the dust-
releasing operations of all major manufactures (see Table 7).
TABLЕ 7: DATA FOR THE AVERAGE SHIFT FIBRE CONCENTRATIONS IN THE DUST-
RELEASING OPERATIONS IN ALL MAJOR MANUFACTURES IN BULGARIA, 1989
DUST RELEASING OPERATIONS AVERAGE SHIFT FIBRE CONCENTRATION
(fibres/cm3)
primary raw asbestos material processing; 5 - 30
torque convertion and destroyal of asbestos
insulations
4-12
preparation of asbestos putties 2
unpacking and dosing of asbestos materials and
mechanical processing of asbestos products in
asbestos-cement industry;
2-24
dosing, combing, twisting in asbestos-textile
manufactures;
1-8
polishing of gaskets and grinding of waste
materials
1-6
Taking account of the above figures and of the indisputably proven pathogenic effect
of asbestos dust, the health risk of asbestos exposure has become a priority occupational
hygiene problem in the country.
Ordinance No 12 of 1993 of the Ministry of Health on the Sanitary Rules for Import,
Manufacture and Use of Asbestos and Asbestos-containing Materials and Products
The Ordinance has been drafted in compliance with the main provisions of the ILO
Convention No 162 and stipulates prohibition on:
import and use of crocidolite and amosite;
manufacture and use of asbestos materials and products which have safe and available
substitutes;
use of asbestos-cement materials for construction of residential buildings, health and
education institutions, kindergartens, sport and leisure facilities;
laying of squirted asbestos insulations and covers;
transport and storage of asbestos outdoors and re-use of asbestos-containing packages.
Permit regime has been introduced for the import, manufacture, use and demolition
of asbestos materials. Requirements have been set for employers with respect to the
availability of safe protective clothing and dust masks to workers, to the control of limit
values for airborne asbestos dust in the working environment and for emission sources in
place, as well as to the certification and labeling of products. In this sense, Ordinance No 12
of 1993 of the Ministry of Health has stipulated measures for protection of both the working
and the ambient environment against asbestos pollution.
In order to assist employers and importers in their activities to satisfy the
requirements of the Ordinance, as well as to implement the requisite control for compliance
with the restrictive regime for import and use of asbestos materials, the following documents
have been developed and implemented in practice:
12
Instructions for safety handling of asbestos, Safety and Occupational
Medicine, issue No 3 of 2001
Catalogue of asbestos-containing raw and other materials, used in Bulgaria,
Research Institute of Hygiene and Occupational Diseases at the Medical
Academy, Sofia, Business newsletter, 1987.
Opto-chemical method to identify the type of asbestos in the raw materials
(BSS 16910-88 „Noxious Substances. Determination of the asbestos type in
the raw and other materials‟)
With the introduction of the Ordinance a significant progress in the reduction of dust
emissions in key industries has been achieved: measures have been taken for separation of
dust sources by adequate ventilating and encapsulating equipment; for upgrade of dust-
intensive processes by introducing mechanisation and automation of operations; for vacuum
or wet cleaning of floors and surfaces of machinery, etc. The use of crocidolite and amosite
has been banned whereas the volume of the used raw asbestos materials has significantly
been reduced to below 10,000 tons of chrysotile and 500 tons of Bulgarian anthophyllite per
annum.
The measures taken have resulted in:
canceling the output and manufacture of Bulgarian raw asbestos material as well as
asbestos-cement (only one plant is left working) and asbestos-textile manufactures.
restriction of the variety of imported asbestos materials to fitting boards, insulations,
special paddings for the petrochemical, chemical and power industries, and friction
products, designated mainly for the heavy motor vehicles and trucks industries;
decrease in the output of the existing manufactures and respective cut down in the number
of exposed workers;
restricting the asbestos exposure of major occupational categories of workers to limit
values below national threshold limit values (see Table 8),
widespread use of alternative to asbestos less dangerous materials
Table 8 DATA FOR THE OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS FIBRES IN ASBESTOS
MANUFACTURES OVER THE PERIOD 1994 - 2000
Occupational Category Average shift concentration C
(fibres/cm3)
1 2
Production of asbestos
Milling - Feeding operator
Milling - Filling operator
0.45
0.5
Manufacture of asbestos-cement products (plant 1), TT
asbestos dosing operator
fitting machine operator
moulder
pipes cutter and turner
socket cutter and turner
motor car driver
operator of dust collection installations
0.2 - 0.9; 0.2
0.2
less than 0.1
0.4 - 1.1
0.1 - 0.3
0.3
0.2
Manufacture of asbestos-cement products (plant 2)
Raw materials storage - console panel operator;
Operator of asbestos supply bin;
Conglomeration equipment - console panel operator;
Molding line - console panel operator;
Production warehouse;
0.1
0.3
under 0.01
under 0.1
0.1
13
Asbestos-textile products manufacture
preparation of asbestos mixtures,
combing (master),
combing (assistant), T
spinner
weaver
knitter
1.5
5.0
4.7
0.8
0.6
0.2
Asbestos brakes production
feeding, mixing and stirring operator
press machine and forge-machine operator
press operator (small press)
cutting machine operator (small component parts)
cutting machine operator (large component parts)
0.6
0.2
0.2
0.4
0.6
motor car driver less than 0.1
Cutting fittings for the petrochemical industry
cutter (fittings)
cutter (ropes)
рower station insulations
driver-supplier
insulations (mixer)
insulations (asbestos ropes)
0.4
less than 0.1
0.1
0.3
1.4
Non-ferrous metallurgy
pouring (replacing asbestos insulating screens)
masons (cleaning asbestos linings of founder forms)
0.5
0.2
Thermal power plant
demolition of asbestos insulations of turbines
waste disposal
replacement of asbestos gaskets
6.5
0.7
0.3
Closed in 1996
Closed in 1999
The low values of airborne asbestos fibre concentrations are due both to the
undertaken control measures and to the considerably reduced manufacture outputs in the
course of the transition of the country to the new liberalised market conditions.
Along with the control of airborne asbestos dust in the working environment,
monitoring of asbestos emissions from industrial sources is carried out. The measurements
are performed by specialised laboratories within the framework of the Ministry of
Environment and Water and by the “Dust” laboratory at the National Centre for Hygiene,
Medical Ecology and Nutrition. They supervise the conformity to the Threshold Limit Values
for emission/concentration in waste gases/of harmful substances into the ambient air,
published in State Gazette, No 81 of 1991. The limit value for the mass concentration of
asbestos fibres, set up at 0,1 mg/m3, is equal to the regulated values adopted in the EU
Member States. Data on asbestos emissions is presented in Table 9.
TABLE 9. Data on asbestos plant emissions over the period 1994-1997
Emission source Concentration of asbestos
(mg/m3 )
Production of asbestos materials
- stack 1 0.06
- stack 2 0.4
Asbestos cement
14
- dosing line in asbestos-cement pipes production 0.21-0.26
- mixer 0.36
- lathes less than 0.01 – 0.03
- cutting 0.4
Asbestos textiles
- preparatory workshop (I stack)* (closed in 1996) 0.4
- combing workshop for thin yarn (II stack)* (closed in 1996) 3.0
- combing workshop for soft filling stuff (III stack)* (closed in 1996) 2.5
- weaving workshop (IV stack)* (closed in 1996) 0.3
Asbestos diafragms production
- stack 0.01
Plant emissions in the asbestos cement industry have been up to 4 times above the country‟s
threshold limit values.
Actions for harmonisation of the national asbestos-related legislation with the relevant
EU directives
The first necessary legislative step to introduce European standards in the field
of safeguarding the health and safety at work in Bulgaria has been undertaken
in 1997 with the adoption of the Law on Health and Safety at Work and its
subordinate secondary legislative acts, related interalia to the establishment of
the specialised occupational medicine service units. These acts stipulate the
powers and responsibilities of all participants in the work process (employers,
committees and syndicates engaged in working conditions, and all workers),
as well as the functions of the occupational medicine service units, associated
with the establishment of the intra-company system for health and safety at
work, and with the alignment of any workplace with the legislative
requirements, which is a binding liability of the employer.
During the period from 2000 to 2006 a number of actions have been undertaken to
prepare the country for the introduction of the European directives related to restrictions
on the use of asbestos and to minimisation of the entailing occupational health risks:
In 2000, the General Labour Inspectorate at the Ministry of Labour and Social
Policy (MLSP) has conducted a national campaign dedicated to inspection
of the labour conditions of work with asbestos. The results revealed that the
annual volume of imports and consumption of asbestos is about 2000 tons.
Approximately 4,400 workers are directly exposured to asbestos dust. In
Bulgaria asbestos is used year-round by 434 enterprises and occasionally by
another 315 undertakings, companies and workshops, mainly in the chemical,
metallurgy, cement, glass and ceramics, and power industries, as well as by
transport and construction undertakings and furnace-maintenance enterprises,
plumbery companies, etc. Some 128 firms and undertakings have replaced
asbestos with non-asbestos materials.
The inspection indicated also that many employers and workers are poorly informed
about the harmful effects of the work with asbestos.
There are gaps and weaknesses in the creation of the inter-company management and
risk prevention organisation related to the work with asbestos. The number of companies that
have replaced asbestos with non-asbestos products is small (128), mainly firms in the
15
automotive transport and auto-repair services. The permit regime is not observed for import,
primary processing of asbestos, manufacture and use of asbestos-containing products. The
demolition of asbestos-containing structures and insulations is done without adherence to the
due elementary requirements thereto. There is no expertise in the documentation of the
enterprises with granted sanitary permits on the technology-driven need to use asbestos as
well as on the possibilities for its replacement by alternative sustitutes.
At construction sites, in water companies abrasive dry processes with asbestos-
containing materials by high-speed machines is widely permitted.
The mandatory periodic medical examinations are not carried out, the system for
keeping card registries, and for diagnostics and health surveillance of the exposed to asbestos
workers has not been established, as a result of which the country has no real available
picture of the occupational morbidity caused by asbestos exposure. The predominant part of
the occupational medicine service units do not render adequate competent assistance to the
employers on the workers‟ protection against the harmful effects of asbestos.
The accredited laboratories for measuring work environment factors are not equipped
with modern facilities to assess the airborne asbestos-fibre dust and to determine the type of
asbestos.
During this period, the country has been facing also the unsolved problem of the
disposal of asbestos waste. It has been treated by almost all municipalities as ordinary waste,
which posed a serious potential risk for the population in the areas, adjacent to the landfills.
Although the manufacture of asbestos-containing construction products has been suspended
in the country, thousands of residential and farm buildings as well as water supply systems
with asbestos input inclosures still remain.
On 6 July 2000, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) and the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) hosted in Sofia a national tripartite
seminar with international participation, entitled “The asbestos problem in
Bulgaria” under the project "Training for Integrated Labour Inspection". The
seminar was attended by representatives of MLSP, the Ministry of Health
(MH), the Ministry of Environment and Water (MEW), the Ministry of
Economy (ME), the General Labour Inspectorate (GLI), the National Social
Security Institute (NSSI), the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in
Bulgaria, the “Podkrepa” Labour Confederation, the Bulgarian Industrial
Associaltion, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, and by representatives of
enterprises and institutions.
Participants stressed on the importance of the issues associated with the safe and
healthy working conditions in the manufacture and use of asbestos and asbestos-containing
materials and products. It was agreed to extend the preventive activities related to
occupational risks, entailed by the use of asbestos.
Participants suggested that the Minister of Health, the Minister of Environment and
Water and the Minister of Labour and Social Policy shall accelerate the process of amending
the legal framework regulating the import, manufacture and use of asbestos and asbestos-
containing materials and products in order to bring it into full compliance with the EU
legislation.
The coordination and cooperation between Bulgarian state control authorities for the
implementation of integrated control in ensuring safe and healthy working conditions in the
use of asbestos and asbestos containing materials and products was agreed.
The participants declared the necessity of conducting a wide awareness-raising
campaign about the significant hazards related to the use of asbestos and asbestos-containing
materials at work.
16
In view of the need to develop a national strategy for prevention of health risks
associated with occupational exposure to asbestos as well as the need to draft a
Coordinated Action Programme among the different government institutions,
related to the accelerated bringing of national statutory instruments in
compliance with the provisions of the EU legislation, by virtue of the
decisions taken at the tripartite seminar, a National Programme for Limiting
and Gradual Phasing out of the Use of Asbestos in Bulgaria has been
developed and adopted under the National Action Plan for Environment and
Health, 2002 – 2007.
The programme comprises:
All activities in the country related to the extraction, import, processing, use,
storage and demolition of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials and
products;
Monitoring on the asbestos dust in the country;
Health policy on prevention, diagnostics and surveillance of the health status of
individuals who have been exposed or are currently exposed to asbestos dust.
The program covers as targeted priorities the following main tasks and activities:
The updating of Ordinance No 12 of the Ministry of Health of 19 November 1993
on the sanitary rules related to the import, manufacture and use of asbestos and
asbestos-containing materials and products with a view to its harmonisation with
the respective EU directives, and to the achievement of the main target, set to
limiting and stage-by-stage phasing out of the import, manufacture and use of
asbestos and asbestos-containing materials and products in Bulgaria.
Officers in charge: the Ministers of MLSP, MH, MEW and the Executive director
of the General Labour Inspectorate Executive Agency.
MEW and MH to coordinate their activities for the purpose of updating and
amendment of the statutory acts relevant to the ban on import and use of
particularly harmful forms of asbestos in the country.
Deadline: 30 November 2002
Officers in charge: Ministers of MEW and MH
The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW), MEW and
MH, in coordination with the respective district administrations, to organise the
delineation, funding and construction of disposal sites for hazardous asbestos
waste in the country.
Deadline: 30 March 2003
Officers in charge: Ministers of MEW and MRDPW
The risk of asbestos exposure and its impact on the health status of workers to be
established as a priority in the activities of the state control bodies within the
systems of MLSP, MH, MEW and the General Labour Inspectorate EA
Deadline: routine
Officers in charge: Ministers of MLSP, MH, MEW and the Executive director of
the General Labour Inspectorate EA
MH, MEW and MRDPW to develop relevant catalogues of available alternative
and safe substitutes to asbestos in order to raise public and employers‟ awareness.
Officers in charge: Ministers of ME, MEW and MRDPW
17
The Ministry of Health to organise the establishment of an adequate information
system for collecting and processing data on the exposure to asbestos, the
occupational morbidity and the incidence of asbestosis in the country.
Officer in charge: Minister of Health
The Ministry of Health to establish the required efficient organisation for
measuring the asbestos dust concentrations throughout the country and to ensure
the adequate staff and equipment supply for the specialised measurement
laboratories as well as their networking into national and international quality
control testing systems. For this purpose, the laboratories for asbestos dust
measurement at four Hygiene & Epidemiology Inspectorates in the country shall
be outfitted with modern equipment.
Officer in charge: Minister of Health
The Ministry of Health to organise and conduct special training for doctors in
occupational medicine and occupational pathology on the issues of surveillance
and prevention during work with asbestos and asbestos-containing materials and
products designated.
Officer in charge: Minister of Health
MH, MEW, MLSP and the General Labour Inspectorate EA to coordinate their
activities for conducting a broad public awareness programme on the hazards
posed by work with asbestos and/or asbestos-containing materials as well as on
the availability and distribution of their alternative substitutes.
Officers in charge: Ministers of MH, MEW, MLSP and the executive director of
the General Labour Inspectorate EA
The programme is implemented by MLSP and the General Labour
Inspectorate EA in cooperation with MH, MEW, ME, the Bulgarian Industrial
Association and with the involvement of “Podkrepa” Labour Confederation.
The overall coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the National
Programme is carried out by the National Council on Working Conditions, whereas
the achievements of the set therein tasks and all key decisions related to its
improvement in subsequent periods are discussed annually.
The National Programme for limiting and gradual phasing out of the use of
asbestos and asbestos-containing materials and products is funded by:
The State Budget,
The Labour Conditions Fund at the Ministry of Labour and
Social Policy,
Earmarked funds at other ministries and administrations,
Funds from international and Bulgarian donors.
During the period 2000 – 2002, at the stage of preparation for harmonisation of
the national legislation with the EU directives, a series of events designated to
proclaim the hazards of working with asbestos and the modus operandi to reduce
associated risks have been held, and measures have been taken to improve the
training of the staff of the occupational medicine service units:
Summary informational leaflets and booklets with applicable measures for dust
prevention, e.g. in activities involving the handling of asbestos in construction,
etc. have been prepared and promoted;
A 27-minutes documentary entitled “Goodbuy asbestos” has been funded under
the “Labour Conditions” Fund of MLSP and has been shot by the film studio
„Vreme;‟
18
In the framework of the programme for a postgraduate training course, according
to the Plan of the National Centre for Protection of Public Health, a training
course, designated to improve the practical work of the staff of the occupational
medicine service units and covering topics such as occupational and medical
issues related to the handling of asbestos, the requirements of Bulgarian and EU
legislation, the safety and prevention measures related to exposure to asbestos, is
held annually.
NATIONAL STATUTORY ACTS HARMONISED WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION
LEGISLATION
During the period 2002 – 2006, the national legislation on asbestos issues has been
aligned to comply with the respective EU legislation in force by transposing the provisions of
the EU directives into several new ordinances, as follows:
The requirements of Directive 83/478/EEC, Directive 85/610/ЕЕС, Directive
91/659/ЕЕС and Directive 99/77/ЕС on the restrictions and ban on the marketing
and use of asbestos have been transposed into:
- Ordinance on the hazardous chemical substances, preparations and
products, subject to prohibition or restrictions for marketing and use,
adopted by Decree No 130 of the Council of Ministers of 1 July 2002
(promulgated in SG, issue 69 of 17 July 2002)
The provisions of Directive 87/217/EEC on the prevention and reduction of
environmental pollution by asbestos has been transposed into the Bulgarian
legislation by Ordinance No 5 of the MEW (promulgated in SG, issue 39 of 2003)
The provisions of the directives on the protection of workers from the risks related
to exposure to asbestos at work that are in force have been transposed on two
stages. During the first stage, in 2003, an ordinance harmonised with the
provisions of Directive 83/477/EEC as amended in 1991 by Council Directive
91/382/EEC, namely Ordinance No 1 of 27 February 2003 of the MLSP and
MH on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to
asbestos at work (promulgated in SG, issue 23 of 2003) has been drafted and
adopted. The threshold limit values for exposure to asbestos as set by Directive
91/382/EEC have been officially adopted in the country under Ordinance No 13
of the MLSP and MH of 30 December 2003 on the protection of workers
from the risks related to exposure to chemical agents at work (promulgated in
SG, issue 8 of 2004). The amendments to the EU legislation, introduced in 2003
by Directive 2003/18/EC and directed to minimisation of the risks related to
occupational exposure to asbestos, have been transposed into the national
regulatory framework in 2006 with the adoption of a new statutory act,
Ordinance No 9 of 2006 of MLSP and MH replacing the former Ordinance No 1
of 2003.
Under Section VII „Health protection of citizens in performing activities
involving the use of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials‟ of the Law on Public
Health (promulgated in SG, issue 70 of 2004 as amended in SG, issue 59 of 2006) the
terms and order for granting permits under the updated Ordinance have been
provided.
The enforced, harmonised with the European directives, Ordinance on the
hazardous chemical substances and preparations, subject to prohibition or
restrictions of marketing and use has stipulated:
19
the prohibition, since 1 January 2003, of the marketing and use of all types of
amphibole asbestos (crocidolite, amosite, antofilite, actinolite and tremolite) and
all other preparations and products, containing them as well as the Bulgarian raw
asbestos materials that belong to the latter category, too. The implementation has
also banned a number of particular widely used up to then materials and
preparations containing free fibres of chrysotile (powder products, dyes, lacquers,
mortars, protective coatings, fillers, adhesives, liquid and gas filters, fabrics, felts,
etc.).
the introduction of uniform specific requirements to the labelling of products
containing asbestos and to the accompanying safety instructions adopted
worldwide and within the European Union by Directive 83/478/EEC;
the introduction, in accordance with Directive 1999/77/EC, of a total ban, with
effect from 1 January 2005, on the marketing and use of all types of asbestos and
asbestos preparations and products throughout the country, with the exception of
asbestos diaphragms for electrolysis plants, which can be exploited until the
expiry of their service life. The use of installed before 1 May 2005 products is
permitted until the end of their service life or until their discharge, but a labelling
requirement has bee introduced.
the Ordinance transposes the provisions of Directive 97/69/EC on the
classification criteria in the category of probable carcinogens and the labelling of
synthetic mineral fibre products.
Responsible for observance of the Ordinance are the entities marketing
dangerous chemical substances, preparations and products, including those with
probable asbestos and synthetic mineral fibre ingredients. Powers to implement the
Ordinance are entrusted to the Ministry of Environment and Water, which in turn
informs MH and MLSP about the information submitted.
Ordinance No 5 of 2003 of the Ministry of Environment and Water
transposes the EU requirements relevant to the protection of air, water and
soil against pollution by asbestos and the reduction of asbestos waste from
activities involving use of asbestos and work with asbestos products. For
activities involving work with asbestos in quanltities larger than 100 kg per
annum, a permit requirement has been imposed. For the construction and
operation of new as well as for the exploitation of currently operating
installations and equipment for manufacture of asbestos products, integrated
permits pursuant to the Law on Environmental Protection are required. The
storage, transportation and disposal of asbestos-containing waste is subject
to a permit requirement under the Law on Reduction of the Harmful Impact
of Waste upon the Environment or to integrated permit requiremet pursuant
to the Law on Environmental Protection. The Ordinance is fundamentally
focused on the warrant of control over the observance of the threshold limir
values for asbestos emissions into the ambient air, which have been adopted
under Ordinance No 2 of MEW on the norms of admissible emissions
(concentration in waste gases) of harmful substances emitted into the
ambient air from immobile sources (promulgated in SG, issue 51 of 1998)
and the limit value of 30 mg/dm3 for unsolved substances in waste waters.
Thereunder the relevant measurement methods have been also stipulated.
The storage, transportation and disposal of waste requires the the
implementation of measures to prevent release of asbestos fibres into the
ambient air and the spilling of asbestos-contaminated liquids, as well as
20
adherence to the terms and requirements for construction and operation of
landfills, which are set in the current legislation.
The responsibility for observance of the Ordinance lies with the entities
working with asbestos. Powers to implement the Ordinance are entrusted to
the Minister of Environment and Water.
The national legislation on the protection of workers from the risks related to
exposure to asbestos at work (Ordinance No 1 of MLSP and MH of 27 February
2003), which is harmonised with EU Directive 83/477/EEC and Directive
91/382/EEC, has introduced rather more stringent requirements for the prevention of
occupational exposure to asbestos as compared to its antecedent Ord. No 12 of 1993:
The threshold limit values for concentration of asbestos fibres in the air have
been substantially cut down to 0,6 chrysotile fibres per cm3 and to 0,3 fibres
per cm3 for all other forms of asbestos fibres, either alone or in mixtures,
including mixtures containing chrysotile. The limit values have been adjusted
to those adopted in the EU.
The application of asbestos by means of the spraying process is prohibited, as
well as the working procedures that involve using low-density (less than 1
g/cm3) insulating or sound-proofing materials which contain asbestos.
The obligation for assessment of the risk has been introduced with
differentiated approaches to high and low risk levels. In this regard the criteria
for low degree of risk assessed have been adopted in compliance with
Directive 91/382/EEC (the average shift exposure to fibres shall be below
30% of the limit values and, for short-term sporadic activities, the cumulative
dose shall be lower than 12 fibre-days per cm3 for chrysotile and lower than 6
fibre-days per cm3 for amphibole asbestos over a three-month period)
General and specific measures, harmonised with the provisions of Directive
83/477/EEC and Directive 91/382/EEC for protection of workers who are or
may be exposed to dust arising from asbestos and for minimising that
exposure, including the demarcation and indication by worning signs of the
working places, the collection and removal of waste therefrom, the
appropriate working clothing and personal protective equipment, etc have
been introduced.
For all activities involving use of asbestos or asbestos-containing materials
the obligation and procedure for notification of the control bodies have been
stipulated.
For the activities involving the demolition of buildings containing asbestos
materials or the removal of asbestos-containing products, requirements for
drafting a detailed plan for ensuring the safety at work as well as environment
protection against asbestos contamination have been set, and a permit
requirement is applied.
A requirement is introduced for periodic measurement of the average shift
exposure to asbestos fibres in the air at the place of work and the PhaCo-
microscopy method based on membrane filter sampling and analysis is
annexed to the Ordinance, in compliance with the proposed reference
measurement method under Directive 83/477/EEC.
Compulsory preventive and periodic assessment of the health state of workers
has been introduced according to the requirements, stipulated in an annex to
the Ordinance, and harmonised with the recommendations of Directive
83/477/EEC.
21
Provisions for keeping company registers of all activities involving work with
asbestos, which shall contain data on the nature and the duration of the
activity and the risk of exposure to which workers have been subjected, as
well as for ensuring access for each worker to the information contained in the
register related to him/her personally, are stipulated. The registers and the
individual health records shall be kept for at least 30 years.
Provisions for keeping a register of all recognised cases of asbestosis and
mesothelioma have been introduced.
With the ban on the manufacture and use of asbestos as of 2005, the measures for
prevention of risks to the health of workers arising from exposure to asbestos at work
have been focused on the activities involving and individuals working with asbestos
materials implemented in the past, mainly in the construction industry. The
substantially changed conditions and requirements entailed from the relevant practice
have necessitated the updating of the legislation pertaining to the protection of
workers from the risks related to asbestos exposure. In compliance with those
exigencies of the occupational health practice, a new statutory act has been adopted in
2006, i.e. Ordinance No 9 of the MLSP and MH. The Ordinance transposes the
requirements of EU Directive 2003/18/EC, which have been further supported by the
codified Directive 2009/148/EC. The Ordinance stipulates the following basic
regulations of the national legislative framework pertaining to asbestos:
Along with the ban on some activities, introduced by Ordinance No 1 of 2003,
a prohibition has been also set on all activities involving the extraction of
asbestos, and the manufacture and processing of asbestos products and
articles.
A significantly lower threshold limit value of 0,1 fibres per cm3 is set for
exposure to airborne concentration of asbestos, as compared to the value in
force until 2006; the threshold limit value is equal for all types of asbestos.
More stringent requirements for risk assessment in the construction
industry in comparison to those stipulated in the preceding Ordinance No 1 of
2003 have been introduced. The activities involving repair, modernisation,
demolition of buildings, structures and installations may be implemented only
after ascertaining the presence of asbestos in the building, its type, the
materials in which it is contained and the condition of these materials. Where
there are any doubts about possible presence of asbestos, it shall be presumed
as present and the provisions of the Ordinance shall be observed.
In view of the significant differences in the degree of asbestos dust released
into the air, depending on the scope of the maintenance, repair and removal
activities involving miscellaneous types of asbestos products, a new criterion
for low risk related to exposure, i.e. the adopted under Directive 2003/18/EC
concept of “sporadic and low intensity exposure to asbestos” has been
introduced.
Provided the need for specific knowledge and skills of employers and workers
in respect to the observance of the strict statutory terms and conditions, a
requirement for obligatory prior and periodical training of workers has been
introduced; the syllabus and terms of the training have been prepared as well.
The requirements pertaining to the assessment of the health status of workers
are aligned with the amendments introduced in Directive 2003/18/EC
The provisions, which have been stipulated in the former Ordinance No 1 of 2003, are
retained as follows:
22
the preventive measures for protection of workers and for minimising the
exposure,
the requirements for implementing control measurements of asbestos
contamination in the air, resulting from the relevant activities,
the terms and order to notify the competent authority about the activities
carried out,
the requirement for keeping a register of the workers‟ exposure to asbestos
fibres.
The order and procedures for granting permits have been also retained while
amendments (promulgated in SG, issue 59 of 2006) to the provisions stipulated in the Law on
Public Health (promulgated in SG, issue 70 of 2004) to introduce the requirement for
certification of the training undergone by workers have been made.
RESPONSIBILITIES, FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE MINISTRY OF
LABOUR AND SOCIAL POLICY AND OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH
PERTINENT TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ORDINANCE No 9 OF 2006
The responsibilities, functions and powers of all entities and competent state bodies,
engaged in activities directed to the implementation of the provisions of the Ordinance, are
schemed in Annex 1 thereto.
Employers are responsible for the implementation of Ordinance No 9
The training for workers exposed or likely to be exposed to asbestos is provided by
the Occupational Medicine Service units and by company professionals, qualified in the
methods and technology of the pertinent activities and in the measures for preventive
maintenance, and - where appropriate - by involving external competent specialists from the
MH and the MLSP, as well as from firms with adequate subject of activity from the private
sector or from abroad. In the preparation of tutorials, on-line information materials of the UK
Health and Safety Laboratory, like the Final Report on the Development of Practical
Guidelines for the Training of Asbestos Removal Workers, prepared for DGV under
agreement number VS/1999/5190 and issued on 29 August 2001, have been used.
The functions for exercising control over the application of the Ordinance are
entrusted to the Ministry of Health – performed through the Regional
Inspectorates for Protection and Control of Public Health, and to MLSP –
performed through the District Labour Inspection Offices.
The work involving the use of asbestos materials in the construction industry and,
especially, the removal and demolition of such materials are outlined as a priority economic
activity, in the risk aspect of asbestos exposure, in the Handbook of Labor Inspectors (Policy
model for application of the labour legislation, edition 2007 of the General Labour
Inspectorate)
On its turn, the control authority obliges companies to declare each year the work
involving asbestos materials and the measures taken in compliance with the requirements of
Ordinance No 9. This obligation is triggered pursuant to Ordinance No 3 of MLSP of 23
February 2010 on the format, content, procedures and manner of filing and keeping the
declaration under Art. 15, paragraph 1 of the Law on Health and Safety at Work
(promulgated in SG, issue 19 of 9 March 2010 as amended in SG, issue 43 of 8 June 2010).
The competent authority dealing with environmental protection and safe
disposal of waste is MEW;
The competences in the metodologies for measuring asbestos concentrations
and in the training of analytical experts and of specialists from the
23
Occupational Medicine Service units are vested in the National Centre for
Protection of Public Health.
The measurements of asbestos contaminations in the air, resulting from
pertinent activities, are carried out by specialised laboratories: LABOREX
EAD at the Ministry of Health, laboratories within the framework of the
Regional Inspectorates for Protection and Control of Public Health, as well as
private laboratories. The laboratories are accredited to perform control
measurements and to implement approved by the Bulgarian Accreditation
Service procedures for internal laboratory quality control of their analyses.
The laboratory of LABOREX has participated also in an inter-laboratory
compative measurement method tests under the program for quality assurance
of the NOFER Institute of Occupational Medicine in Poland (1997), which in
turn participates in the WHO/EURO reference scheme, coordinated by the UK
Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh. Such comparative tests of
implemented measurement methods have been conducted also with the
"Fibercount Environmental Control" laboratory in Belgium (2009), etc. The
results proved the high level of competence and qualification of the
LABOREX‟s experts.
SECTOR SPECIFIC STATUTORY ACTS RELATED TO ORDINANCE No 9
The requirements of Ordinance No 9 have been further mandated in sector
regulations, subject to implementation in some specific industries, in which the likelihood of
potential occupational health risk of exposure to asbestos fibers at work cannot be ruled out,
including inter alia Ordinance No 2 of 2004 of MLSP and MRDPW on the minimum
requirements for health and safety at work during performing construction and assembly
works (as amended in SG, issue 102 of 2006), which addresses the industry of primary
importance in terms of risk to asbestos exposure i.e. the construction industry. Pursuant to the
provisions of the Law on Health and Safety at Work, the Ordinance sets a requirement to
appoint a coordinator on the issues of safety and health (advisor, designer, technical
superintendent) who shall draft a plan for safety and health at work and shall communicate to
the contractee (the project principal) information on the specific characteristics of the
building in terms of safety and protection of the health of workers. The contractor is obliged
to make risk assessment.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE METHODOLOGY FOR IDENTIFICATION OF
ASBESTOS AND FOR RISK ASSESSMENT OF EXPOSURE TO ASBESTOS IN
TERMS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ORDINANCE No 9
For the purposes of the pratical application of Ordinance No 9 a variety of methods,
formulations and criteria from the vast real world experience have been explored and
borrowed.
In the preliminary study of constructions in order to determine the
presence, the type and the condition of asbestos-containing materials,
including the sampling for testing of materials, the basic provisions that are
used are the ones of Methods for the Determination of Hazardous
Substances (the MDHS series) of the UK Health and Safety Laboratory,
namely MDHS100 “Surveying, sampling and assessment of asbestos-
containing materials” of 2001.
24
For the identification of asbestos in materials, the polarised-light
microscopy method is adapted, by conducting due lab tests in the leading
country laboratory of LABOREX EAD (formerly a laboratory at NCPPH),
which has been taken from MDHS77 „Asbestos in bulk materials:
Sampling and identification by polarised light microscopy (PLM)” of the
UK Health and Safety Laboratory. To meet the country's needs, relevant
laboratory facilities have been provided under a PHARE project in order to
equip laboratories at four Regional Inspectorates for Protection and
Control of Public Health (RIPCPH). At this stage, training courses are held
by leading specialists of LABOREX EAD for experts from RIPCPH in
order for the latter to acquire the necessary vocational qualification.
To determine the cases of “sporadic and low intensity exposure”, the
complex criterion has been adopted as recommended in the publication of
the UK Health and Safety Executive “Work with materials containing
asbestos. Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. Approved Code of
Practice and guidance (Series code: L143, ISBN: 978 0 7176 6206 7). The
publication is available online1. The criterion provides the following
conditions:
The risk assessment shall clearly indicate that the workers have
been exposed to concentrations of asbestos in the ambient air lower
than of 0.1 fibres per cm3 over a period of 4 hours;
The peak admissible transient concentration is 0.6 fibres per cm3
for all types of asbestos fibres over a maximum period of 10
minutes;
The work shall be sporadic and shall be carried once within a
period of at least 7 days.
Provided that good operational practices are implemented (effective engineering and
technological level of dust prevention) and all provisions of the criterion have been satisfied,
the following activities may be ranked to the group of activities with low risk of exposure:
removal, without deterioration of non-degraded materials in which the
asbestos fibres are firmly linked in a matrix (for example, asbestos-
cement materials)
encapsulation or sealing of asbestos-containing materials which are in
good condition
short, non-continuous maintenance activities in which only non-friable
materials are used, as well as air monitoring and control activities and
collection of samples for asbestos identification.
Example: The repair works to eliminate leaks in asbestos-cement water pipes are not
comprised in the cases of "sporadic and low intensity exposure", when they are performed in
ditches with the use of high-speed cutting tools. These activities are short-term and are
carried out sporadically, but data from measurements of airborne concentration of asbestos
fibres at work indicate a higher concentration than 0,6 fibres per cm3 for a period of 10
minutes, whereas the usual concentration observed is 1 fibre per cm3.
To assist employers and Occupational Medicine Service units in their activities to
achieve compliance with the Ordinance, the preparation of an adequate methodological
instruction for determining “sporadic and low intensity” exposures is comprised in the current
annual plan of NCPPH.
1 http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l143.pdf
25
In compliance with Directive 2009/148/EC, the reference method of the
WHO is used to determine the numerical concentration of asbestos fibres
in the ambient air.
Where asbestos materials are removed, stationary measurements are
applied to control the observance of the limit value of 0,01 fibres per cm3
for airborne concentration of asbestos, which is generally accepted in
practice as an indicator of air purity, with regard to:
the integrity and impermeability of fencings surrounding the working site;
the purity of air inside the working site after completion of the activities
and visual inspection of the cleaned site;
background level of airborne asbestos fibre concentrations before and after
removal of the fencings;
The sampling arrangements are taken from the method of the UK Health and Safety
Laboratory, as described in MDHS 39/42 “Asbestos fibres in air. Sampling and evaluation by
Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM) under the Control of asbestos at work Regulations”,
November 1995.
The results of control measurements of activities involving removal of asbestos-
containing materials, mainly industrial insulations, conducted during the period 2008 - 2009
by LABOREX on 70 working sites give grounds for positive appraisal of the measures for
dust prevention implemented in 90% of the inspected sites in terms of integrity and
impermeability of the fencing as well as effective operations for after-work cleaning of the
site. The number of registered cases of non-observance of the threshold limit value for air
purity is small and the exceedings are insignificant.
In conclusion, Bulgarian legislative acts pertaining to the protection of workers from
the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work have been harmonised with the EU
legislation, adequate structures at company level have been established to implement the
ordinances and a system for control of the compliance with the regulatory requirements has
been constituted (government control bodies and specialised laboratories for testing materials
and for monitoring the asbestos concentration in the air of the working area). The extraction,
manufacture and use of asbestos and asbestos-containing products in the country have been
terminated, as a result of which the number of workers exposed or likely to be exposed to
asbestos has significantly decreased.
With regard to the adherence to the regulatory requirements, a number of gaps in
construction repair and removal works made predominantly by small enterprises –
subcontractors or self-employed, which are due to the insufficient level of awareness and
training of the persons entrusted to achieve compliance with the ordinances, still exist. To
obviate such failings are required coordinated actions by MLSP, MH, MRDPW, the Chamber
of Commerce and the trade unions in order to involve in the established occupational training
system all persons, who are likely to come into contact with asbestos materials in
construction works, as well as a broad awareness raising media campaign to draw the public
attention on the hazards related to asbestos.
ANNEXES:
1. Flowchart of the responsibilities, functions and interrelations between companies and
institutional bodies according to the provisions of Ordinance No 9 of 2006.
2. Bulgarian legislative framework pertaining to asbestos 2 http://www.oilfieldmag.com/hse/mdhs39-4.pdf
26
Employer: bears the overall responsibility for the company activities related to implementation of the Ordinance
Keeps register of
workers and their
exposure to asbestos
Files applications to the
competent body for
receiving permits for
removal and demolition
of asbestos
Notifies the
competent bodies
about activites
involving asbestos
Works in cooperation with:
Committees/Groups
on working conditions
Occupational Medicine
Service (OMS) units
Regional Inspectorates
for Protection and
Control of Public Health
(RIPCPH) - Ministry of
Health
District Labour
Inspection Offices,
control bodies
Assesses the health status of workers
Keeps individual health record of
workers
Provides training
Provides consultations on measures
for safety and prevention
Submits, on an annual
basis, information on the
register entries to the
competent bodies
Coordinates the granting of permits to
applicants with the Regional Inspectorates
of Environment and Water (RIEW)
Grant permits
National Centre for
Protection of Public Health
(NCPPH) - Ministry of Health
Keeps the register of
recognised cases of
asbestosis and
mesothelioma
Provides training to the Occupational
Medicine Service units, to experts
from the Regional Inspectorates for
Protection and Control of Public Health, to
employers and workers
Provides
consultations on
the
implementation of
the Ordinance
Annex 1
27
ANNEX 2
BULGARIAN LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK PERTAINING TO ASBESTOS
Main statutory acts pertaining to ensuring safety and health at work
Labour Code (promulgated in State Gazette, issue 26 of 1 April 1986, and in SG, issue
27 of 4 April 1986)
Law on Health and Safety at Work (promulgated in SG, issue 124 of 1997 and amended
in SG, issue 108 of 2008)
(Ordinance No 9 is issued pursuant to art. 36, item 2 of the Law)
Law on Protection against the Harmful Impact of Chemical Substances, Preparations
and Products (promulgated in SG, issue 10 of 4 February 2000, amended in SG, issue
114 of 2003)
Ordinance on the order for reporting, registration, verification, appeal and
accountability of occupational diseases, adopted by Decree No 79 of the Council of
Ministers of 2001 (promulgated in SG, issue 33 of 2001)
Ordinance No 3 of MLSP of 23 February 2010 on the format, content, order and
manner of filing and keeping declarations under article 15, paragraph 1 of the Law on
Health and Safety at Work (promulgated in SG, issue 19 of 9 March 2010; Part III
ASBESTOS, amended in SG, issue 43 of 8 June 2010)
Ordinance No 5 of MLSP and MH of 11 May 1999 on the order, manner and regularity
of risk assessments (promulgated in SG, issue 47 of 21 May 1999)
The Ordinance is issued pursuant to art.17 of the Law on Health and Safety at Work.
The General Labour Inspectorate is the body empowered to control its implementation.
Ordinance No 13 of 24 July 1992 on the threshold limit values for concentration of
hazardous substances in the ambient air (promulgated in SG, issue 81 of 1992)
Ordinance No 3 on the mandatory preliminary and periodical medical examinations of
workers (promulgated in SG, issue 16 of 27 February 1987)
Ordinance No 3 of 14 May 1996 on instructing workers and employees on safety,
hygiene and fire protection at work (promulgated in SG, issue 44 of 21 May 1996)
Ordinance No 3 of 27 July 1998 on the functions and tasks of officers and of specialised
services in enterprises for organising the performance of activities related to safety and
prevention of occupational risks (promulgated in SG, issue 91 of 5 August 1998)
Ordinance No 3 of 19 April 2001 on the minimum requirements for protecting the
safety and health of workers by the use of personal protective equipment at the
workplace (promulgated in SG, issue 46 of 15 May 2001)
Ordinance No 3 of 25 January 2008 on the terms and order of performing the activities
of the occupational medicine service units (promulgated in SG, No 46 of 15 May 2001)
Ordinance No 4 of 2 August 1995 on the signs and signals for safety and fire protection
at work (promulgated in SG, issue 77 of 1 September 1995)
Ordinance No 7 of 23 September 1999 on the minimum requirements for healthy and
safe working conditions at workplaces during the use of operational equipment
(promulgated in SG, issue 88 of 7 October 1999)
BSS 16608-87: Hazardous substances. Threshold limit values for airborne
concentration in the working environment
Ordinance No 4 of 3 November 1998 on the training of representatives in Committees
and Groups on working conditions in enterprises (promulgated in SG, issue 133 of 11
November 1998)
28
Ordinance 15 of 31 May 1999 on the terms, order and requirements for elaboration and
implementation of physiological patterns of work and breaks during work (promulgated
in SG, issue 54 of 15 June 1999)
Ordinance No I - 209 of 22 November 2004 on the rules and standards for fire and
emergency safety of objects in operation (promulgated in SG, issue 107 of 7 December
2004)
Main statutory acts pertaining to the protection of workers from the risks related to
exposure to asbestos at work
Law on Public Health, Chapter 2, Section VII: Protection of citizens‟ health during
performing activities involving the use of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials
(promulgated in SG, issue 70 of 2004). Section VII has been introduced by the Law on
amendment of the Law on Public Health (promulgated in SG, issue 59 of 13 July 2006)
Ordinance No 12 of MH of 14 October 1993 on the sanitary rules for import,
manufacture and use of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials and products
(promulgated in SG, No 98 of 1993). The Ordinance is issued pursuant to §2 of the
Final Provisions in relation to art.20 of the Law on Public Health.
Ordinance for amendment of Ordinance No 12 of MH of 14 October 1993 on the
sanitary rules for import, manufacture and use of asbestos and asbestos-containing
materials and products (promulgated in SG, issue 83 of 19 September 2003). The title
of Ordinance No 12 has been changed to “Ordinance on the order and manner of import
of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials and products on the territory of the
Republic of Bulgaria”
Ordinance No 1 of 27 February 2003 on the protection of workers against the risks,
related to exposure to asbestos at work (promulgated in SG, issue 32 of 2003). The
Ordinance is issued pursuant to art. 276, paragraph 1 of the Labour Code.
Ordinance No 9 of 4 August 2006 on the protection of workers against the risks, related
to exposure to asbestos at work (promulgated in SG, issue 71 of 2006). The Ordinance
repeals Ordinance No 1 of 2003 (promulgated in SG, issue 32 of 2003). The Ordinance
is issued pursuant to art.36, item 2 of the Law on Health and Safety at Work
(promulgated in SG, issue 124 of 1997). It encompasses also the conditions and order of
occupational training of workers and employees.
Ordinance No 9 of 23 September 2004 on ensuring health and safety at work during the
exploitation and maintenance of water-supply and sewerage systems (promulgated in
SG, issue 93 of 19 October 2004)
Ordinance No 10 of 26 September 2003 on the protection of workers against the risks,
related to exposure to carcinogens and mutagens at work (promulgated in SG, issue 94
of 24 October 2003)
Ordinance No 2 on the minimum requirements for healthy and safe working conditions
during performing construction and assembly works (promulgated in SG, issue 37 of 4
May 2004)
Main statutory acts pertaining to environmental protection against pollution
Law on Environmental Protection (promulgated in SG, issue 91 of 2002, as amended in
SG, issue 70 of 2004), Section VIII “Prevention of Environmental Pollution by
Asbestos and Mercury” of Chapter 3
29
Law on Clean Ambient Air (promulgated in SG, issue 45 of 1996, amended in SG,
issues 91 of 2002 and 112 of 2003)
Law on Waters (promulgated in SG, issue67 of 1999)
Law on Protection against the Harmful Impact of Chemical Substances, Preparations
and Products (promulgated in SG, issue 10 of 4 February 2000, amended in SG, issue
114 of 2003)
Law on Reduction of the Harmful Impact of Waste upon the Environment (promulgated
in SG, issue 86 of 1997); the treatment of asbestos waste stipulated in Ordinance No 1
of 2003, Section VI, art.15, item 7 shall be implemented according to the provisions of
the law.
Law on Waste Management (promulgated in SG, issue 86 of 2003, amended in SG,
issue 70 of 2004)
Law on Spatial Planning (promulgated in SG, issue 1 of 2001)
Ordinance on the hazardous chemical substances, preparations and products subject to
ban or restriction on marketing and use, adopted by Decree No 130 of the Council of
Ministers of 1 July 2002 (promulgated in SG, issue 69 of 17 July 2002)
Ordinance on the order and manner of import and export of hazardous chemical
substances, preparations and products on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria,
adopted by Decree No 129 of the Council of Ministers of 1 July 2002 (promulgated in
SG, issue 66 of 2002), wherewith Ordinance No 12 of the Council of Ministers of 1999
has been repealed, under which the regime of handling hazardous substances has
formerly been stipulated (promulgated in SG, issue 10 of 1999 as amended later in SG,
issue 3 of 2000 and issue 4 of 2001).
Ordinance on the order and manner of classification, packaging, and labelling of
existing and new chemical substances, preparations and products, adopted by Decree
No. 316 of the Council of Ministers of 20 December 2002 (promulgated in SG, issue 2
of 2003). The ordinance was adopted pursuant to art.5, paragraph 2 of the Law on
Protection against the Harmful Impact of Chemical Substances, Preparations and
Products.
Ordinance No 5 of MEW of 15 April 2005 on the prevention and reduction of
environmental pollution by asbestos (promulgated in SG, issue 39 of 2003). The
ordinance is adopted pursuant to §5 of the Law on Clean Ambient Air (promulgated in
SG, issue 45 of 1996) in relation to art.117 of the Law on Environmental Protection
(promulgated in SG, issue 91 of 2002), art.135, item 13 of the Law on Waters
(promulgated in SG, issue 67 of 1999) and articles 15 and 37 of the Law on Reduction
of the Harmful Impact of Waste upon the Environment (promulgated in SG, issue 86 of
1997)
Ordinance No 2 of MEW, the Ministry of Justice, MRDPW and MH of 19 February
1998 on the standard values for admissible emissions (concentrations in waste gases) of
hazardous substances emitted in the ambient air from immobile sources (promulgated in
SG, issue 51 of 1998, amended in SG issues 34 of 1999, 73 of 1999, 93 of 2003).
According to art. 21(1) fine asbestos dust of category 1 cannot exceed the concentration
of 0,1 mg/m3 at a mass flow of 0,5 g/h.
Ordinance No 7 of 25 May 1992 on the hygienic requirements for health protection of
habitation environment (promulgated in SG, issue 46 of 1992, amended in SG, issues
46 of 1994, 89 and 101 of 1996, 101 of 1996, 101 of 1997, 20 of 1999)
30
Ordinance No 3 of 1 April 2004 on the classification of waste (promulgated in SG,
issue 44 of 2004). The Ordinance stipulates the conditions and procedures for
classification of waste by type and properties.
Ordinance №8 of 24 August 2004 on the conditions and requirements for construction
and operation of landfills and other facilities and installations for waste disposal and
recovery (promulgated in SG, issue 83 of 2004)