National Asbestos Workshop (Bangkok, 6-8 March 2007)

1. National Asbestos Workshop (Bangkok, 6-8 March 2007) ILO Convention on Safety in the Use of Asbestos, 1986, (No.162) Dr Igor Fedotov, Senior Specialist on Occupational Health, ILO, Geneva

2. ILO instruments in OSH • 35 Conventions • >30 Recommendations • >35 Codes of Practice • Guidelines and handbooks • >100 technical publications A unique and formidable body of definitions, principles, obligations, duties and rights, as well as technical guidance that reflects the views of labour stakeholders

3. ILO instruments • Conventions • Recommendations • Conference resolutions • Declarations • Codes of practice • Conclusions and resolutions from meetings • Guidelines and handbooks Increasing detail Increasing legal weight

4. Some relevant ILO Conventions • Eight “Core” Conventions • Freedom of association and collective bargaining; Forced labour; Discrimination at work; Child labour • 81 Labour Inspection (1947) • 148 Working Environment (1977) • 155 Occupational Safety and Health (1981) • 161 Occupational Health Services (1985) • 162 Asbestos (1986) • 170 Chemicals (1990) • 187 Framework for OSH (2006)

5. Some relevant codes of practice • Safety and health in shipbuilding and ship repairing (1974) • Safety and health in the iron and steel industry (1983) • Safety in the use of asbestos (1984) • Safety in the use of chemicals at work (1993) • Recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases (1996) • Safety in the use of synthetic vitreous fibre insulation wools (2001) • Ambient factors in the workplace (2001) • Occupational safety and health in shipbreaking (2004)

6. CODES OF PRACTICE • Recording/notification • Preventive measures • Health Surveillance • Management/Co-ordination • Training

7. ILO Guidelines • Voluntary • Technical standards in OSH • Contain general principles and specific guidance • Practical • Based on established principles for protection in OSH • Not designed to replace national laws or regulations, or accepted standards • May be incorporated into laws or regulations • And into collective agreements

8. ASBESTOS CONVENTION • International Labour Conference, 1986, Adoption of: The Asbestos Convention (No. 162) The Asbestos Recommendation (No.172) To date, ratified by 29 countries and widely voluntary applied

9. ASBESTOS CONVENTION 162 PART I: SCOPE and DEFINITION • Applications All activities involving workers’ exposure to asbestos in the course of work • Definitions asbestos, asbestos dust, airborne asbestos dust, respirable asbestos fibres, esposure to asbestos, workers and workers’ representatives

10. ASBESTOS CONVENTION 162 Part II: GENERAL PRINCIPLES • National Policies and Regulations • Prescription of protective, preventive and control measures • Review of laws in the light of technological progress and scientific knowledge • Responsibilities of employers and workers • System of inspection for enforcement

11. ASBESTOS CONVENTION 162 Part III: PROTECTIVE and PREVENTIVE MEASURES Prevention and control of exposure(Art.9) • adequate engineering controls, work practices occupational hygiene • prescription of special rules and procedures for use of asbestos or products containing asbestos or certain work practices

12. ASBESTOS CONVENTION 162 Part III: PROTECTIVE and PREVENTIVE MEASURES (cont’d) SPECIAL MEASURES (Art.10) When necessary to protect the health of workers and technically practicable: • replacement of asbestos by other materials scientifically evaluated as harmless or less harmful • total or partial prohibition of asbestos or ACM in certain work practices

13. ASBESTOS CONVENTION 162 Part III: PROTECTIVE and PREVENTIVE MEASURES (cont’d) • Prohibition: crocidolite, spraying all types • Notification of use of asbestos by employers • Producers’, Manufactures’ and Suppliers’ responsibilities for labelling • Prescription of exposure limits by law • Measures to prevent or control the release of asbestos dust into air

14. ASBESTOS CONVENTION 162 Part III: PROTECTIVE and PREVENTIVE MEASURES (cont’d) • When protective measures do not bring exposure within OELs, employer will provide RPE and special protective clothing • RPE to be used as supplementary, temporary, emergency or exceptional measure and not as alternative to technical control

15. ASBESTOS CONVENTION 162 Part III: PROTECTIVE and PREVENTIVE MEASURES (cont’d) DEMOLITION or REMOVAL of ASBESTOS • to be undertaken only by employers or contractors recongnized by the competent authority as qualified to carry out such works CLOTHING and WASHING FACILITIES • to be proivded by the employer, cleaning carried out under controlled conditions, prohibited to be taken home

16. ASBESTOS CONVENTION 162 Part III: PROTECTIVE and PREVENTIVE MEASURES (cont’d) ASBESTOS WASTE DISPOSAL • to be disposed by employers without health risks to the workers concerned, those handling waste or to populations in the vicinity of the enterprise • appropriate measures to be taken to prevent pollution of the general environment

17. ASBESTOS CONVENTION 162 Part IV: SURVEILLANCE OF WORK ENVIRONMENT and WORKERS’ HEALTH Dust Concentration Evaluation and Exposure Monitoring (Art.20) Workers’ Health Monitoring (Art. 21) • periodic medical examinations • development of system of notification of asbestos-related diseases

18. ASBESTOS CONVENTION 162 Part V: INFORMATION and EDUCATION Govt., employers & workers organizations • disseminate information and promote education on health hazards and methods of prevention Employers • establish written policies and procedures for education, training and re-training Workers • be informed, instructed in preventive measures, receive continuing traininig

19. 29 Ratifications of ILO Asbestos Convention 162 Belgium Guatemala Bolivia Netherlands Bosnia and Herzegovina Norway Brazil Portugal Cameroon Russian Federation Canada Slovenia Chile Spain Colombia Serbia & Montenegro Croatia Sweden Cyprus Switzerland Denmark Macedonia Ecuador Uganda Finland Uruguay Germany Zimbabwe Japan

20. FUTURE ACTION in Thailand SHORT-TERM • reduce and control exposure to asbestos • ratify ILO Asbestos Convention No.162 MEDIUM-TERM • phase out the use of asbestos and ACM • introduce asbestos substitutes LONG-TERM • eliminate asbestos-related diseases

21. National Asbestos Workshop (Bangkok, 6-8 March 2007) THANK YOU Dr Igor Fedotov, Senior Specialist on Occupational Health, ILO, Geneva