#MMVF - EU urged to act to raise awareness of possible dangers linked with material used in building trade

A senior member of the European Economic Social Committee has demanded an urgent awareness raising campaign about the “real risks” posed by a material commonly used in the building trade.

Speaking in the European Parliament, Aurel Plosceanu said: “More needs to be done to make more people aware of the potential dangers of the product, Man-Made Vitreous Fibres (MMVF) or mineral wool as it is also called."

He told this website: “There is a real risk associated with this material and, like asbestos, people need to be made aware of the possible risks.”

He called for a range of measures, including an awareness raising campaign, better labelling, more investment in research and safer equipment for people in the construction industry who work with the material.

Mineral wool is a type of thermal insulation made from rocks and minerals. After asbestos was banned in most countries in the 1990s Man-Made Vitreous Fibres (MMVF), as mineral wool is also called, effectively emerged as the replacement material.

But major doubts persist on the use of MMVF for building insulation.

That is why campaigners want the health threats posed by mineral wool to be high on the agenda of the new intake of MEPs who have now taken their seats in the European Parliament after May’s elections.

One ongoing problem is that little is known about the possible health risks of MMVF and that, most importantly, includes those in the construction industry and also the general public.

In order to rectify this, MEPs on relevant parliamentary committees are now being targeted when the parliament resumes after the European elections.The aim is to raise awareness about the issue and press for action.

Plosceanu was in Brussels to take part in a roundtable in the parliament on mineral wool.

The main purpose of the meeting was to draw attention of members of the incoming Environment and Health Committee to the issue.

Plosceanu worked for a construction company in his native Romania for eight years until 1992 and is EESC rapporteur on a recently-adopted opinion on asbestos.

He said: “The particular problem with this material is that any health problems may not actually appear in someone until long after their exposure to it. With something like lung cancer, which, as with asbestos, is a possible health risk associated with this, unfortunately that could be too late. By that stage, treatment may be ineffective."

He told the meeting: “Problems can possibly start if the material is touched or the fibres get into the air and are inhaled. The risks apply to both workers in the building trade and also inhabitants and office workers who may also be exposed to it."

Plosceanu, president of the Romanian Construction Entrepreneurs Association since 2007, said, “That is why we need action now. We need improved equipment for construction workers and better labelling so that the possible dangers are made clear to both workers and inhabitants.”

There are some examples of good practice, he said, notably Poland where the authorities had implemented a specific programme and invested sufficient funding in order to address the issue.

Plosceanu is also Vice-president of the General Union of Romanian Industrialists (UGIR) and a member of the EESC’s Employers' Group.

The meeting heard from Gary Cartwright, the author of a major report on mineral wool, who said it was often used for insulating homes.

He said: “People are often unaware of the dangers and that is one reason why MEPs on the newly formed relevant committees need to do more to bring it all to the attention of the public and the EU institutions.”

He added: “It took 100 years before legislation was passed to help protect us from asbestos. Let us hope it does not take as long to deal with this issue.”

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