Asbestos, Cisint alongside associations of exposed persons. Strong action is needed in Europe too

At the national conference dedicated to the topic of asbestos, organized by the Permanent Committee on Asbestos and the Environment, Cisint participated in a large round table alongside technicians, experts and representatives of the main associations that have been involved for years in the fight against this health and environmental tragedy.

“I brought – Cisint states – the experience of Monfalcone, a city that has seen one of the most painful pages related to asbestos: hundreds of workers in the shipyard and their families have lost their lives due to exposure and now even today they get sick, often indirectly, through the so-called “terlis”, the work overalls soaked in toxic fibres.”

Today Monfalcone and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region represent a positive model of good governance of the phenomenon: mapping has been carried out, all public buildings have been reclaimed, municipal and regional contributions have been activated for disposal in private homes, awareness-raising activities have been intensified, scientific research has been supported and the assistance and healthcare part has been strengthened.

“With the same tenacity – he continues – I am also carrying on this battle in Europe, where I have filed a parliamentary question to ask for more funding and greater attention to clean-ups, in line with the ambitious objectives that the European Union has recently set for itself”

Cisint also called for greater involvement of associations in European institutional settings: “Who more than them – exposed parties, victims’ families, technicians – can be competent and authoritative interlocutors in the territories to raise awareness and inform about the risks to health and the environment.”

We must work for the full implementation throughout the country of the law 257/92 which bans asbestos in Italy, we still find it in schools, hospitals, libraries, public buildings and private homes and in this regard the associations and local authorities can be a garrison for awareness and monitoring.”

At the European level, Cisint also drew attention to an evident contradiction: "In a globalized economy we cannot ignore the issue of trade with countries that still today have not introduced bans and regulations against asbestos. We need stronger political action in Europe against nations that use this material, with regulatory instruments that penalize these countries (there are only 62 states in the world that have banned the use of asbestos). In those countries, in fact, it is still possible today that our children, while traveling, may come into contact with asbestos fibers.

Finally, a clear commitment on the national front: "With the Deputy Minister of the Environment Vannia Gava we are working for the reopening of the Interinstitutional asbestos table through, and I have been pursuing for some time, together with the Vice President of the Senate Giammarco Centinaio, an amendment to radically change the destination of the Asbestos Fund. It is a battle for justice that I will continue to fight with all those who want to collaborate."