Managing Asbestos in Italy: Twenty Years after the Ban

Abstract

Establishing an asbestos ban is not sufficient to achieve effective primary prevention. Twenty years after the Italian asbestos ban, the residual presence of asbestos-containing materials, estimated to be 80 percent of the quantity existing in 1992, may still be the cause of negative effects to the health of workers and the general population. The so called “asbestos way-out” at this rate of cleaning up, roughly 1 percent per year, is too slow, and new policy to re-discuss the entire process is needed. Encouragement of the owners with tax relief when the substitution of the asbestos roofs is performed with photovoltaic panels, as well as reducing the cost of removal planning local landfills may be the keys to accelerate the cleanup process.