Farewell to silence

Asbestos is no longer a silent threat.

We have long known about the consequences of asbestos and we have long heard many organizations calling for solutions but, like its fibers, its presence has been invisible to the authorities for decades.

Fortunately, and thanks to the work of several groups, this has been changing for years. Former and current affected workers, neighbors and families who live with it closely and the experience of several more advanced countries in the fight against this carcinogenic substance have transformed asbestos from a silent threat to a priority problem for the public administration.

And to this breeding ground are added the European directives, which require its total removal from all public buildings or heavily trafficked in 2028 and the general removal in 2032.

In Catalonia, a national plan is being drafted for its removal and a law for its eradication, while in Spain, the new waste law to be approved in 2021 is also expected to include a section dedicated to asbestos.

For the first time, the administration seems determined to treat the issue as a general health problem, the first big step requested by all affected groups. And, from here, to detect all asbestos and to measure, for the first time, the magnitude of the problem.

This is the moment.