All types of asbestos have been banned throughout the European Union since 1 January 2005. Many member states banned asbestos earlier, often in the 1980s or 1990s, but the dates differ from country to country. As a rule of thumb, buildings that were built or renovated before the ban in your country – and at the latest before 2005 – can contain asbestos. That is why it is worth finding out whether old materials contain asbestos before a renovation or demolition.
What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a collective term for six mineral fibres. They are divided into two main groups: serpentine asbestos, which includes only chrysotile, and amphibole asbestos, which includes amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite. Historically, chrysotile was by far the most common type of asbestos. All types of asbestos are carcinogenic. Read more on the page Types of asbestos.
Asbestos was added to building materials to improve their strength and heat resistance, among other things. The problem is the tiny size of the fibres: when the material is damaged, the fibres can be breathed into the lungs. Asbestos exposure can cause serious diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. These diseases usually only appear long after exposure.
When was asbestos banned in the EU?
Under Directive 1999/77/EC, the marketing and use of all types of asbestos was banned throughout the EU from 1 January 2005. The background was the health risks of asbestos. Many countries had already introduced their own national bans before this, so the year in which asbestos disappeared from new building materials depends on the country. The ban applied to the use of new asbestos-containing materials, not to materials already installed in buildings. That is why asbestos is still present in many houses, apartments and other buildings today.
This gives a cut-off that is still used in practice: if a building was built or renovated before the ban in your country, its materials can contain asbestos. Newer buildings can also contain asbestos if old materials were left in the structure during a renovation. If you do not know when the ban came into force in your country, check with your national authority, or treat 2005 as the latest possible date.
Where was asbestos used?
Asbestos was used in European buildings for decades before the bans and can be found in many different materials. Typical examples are:
- tile adhesives and joint compounds in bathrooms and kitchens,
- wall and ceiling fillers,
- vinyl floor coverings, vinyl floor tiles and floor adhesives,
- pipe insulation,
- asbestos cement sheets,
- insulation and seals in ventilation ducts.
The materials often lie in layers on top of each other: the same wall or floor may have been given new surfaces several times over the decades. A more detailed list can be found in the article Where can asbestos be found?.
Does an old building always mean asbestos?
No. Although a building constructed before the ban can contain asbestos, not all materials from that period contain asbestos. An adhesive or filler that looks the same can contain asbestos in one building and be asbestos-free in another.
The renovation history also plays a part. The bathroom in a building from the 1970s may, for example, have been renewed in the 2000s, so that the surfaces date from after the ban. At the same time, older layers such as filler or adhesive may have been left under the new surfaces. That is why every layer that is to be removed should be assessed separately.
Why does the year of the ban still matter today?
An intact asbestos material is not dangerous in normal everyday life, because the fibres are bound in the material. The risk arises when the material is removed, drilled, sanded or damaged. That is exactly what happens during renovations, and renovation often takes place in older buildings where asbestos may be present. Work with asbestos is subject to occupational safety rules, which at EU level are based on Directive 2009/148/EC, amended by Directive (EU) 2023/2668 with a lower limit value. The detailed national rules differ, so check with your country's authority.
The year is still only a guide. It shows when a suspicion of asbestos is justified, but not whether your particular tile adhesive or filler contains asbestos. That is why it is worth having the materials to be removed analysed while you are planning the renovation, so that the schedule and costs hold no surprises.
How do you find out whether your building contains asbestos?
Asbestos cannot be identified with the naked eye, by smell or by the texture of the material. The year of construction shows whether a suspicion is justified, but only a laboratory analysis gives certainty. If you do not know the year of construction, you can usually find it in the documents for the property, from the property manager or in the building records held by your local authority.
- Find out the year of construction and when earlier renovations were carried out.
- Identify the materials affected by the renovation. If they date from before the ban, have them analysed.
- Take a small sample and protect yourself in line with the sampling instructions. Include all layers if the structure consists of several layers.
- Send the sample to the laboratory and wait for the result before you start removing anything.
If the result is positive, do not remove the material yourself – hire a specialist asbestos removal contractor. If the material is intact and no renovation is planned, it can usually stay where it is. A negative result means the material can be handled as usual. For a larger renovation in which many materials are removed, an asbestos survey is usually advisable, in which all possible asbestos materials are checked systematically.
Semlab analyses the samples with a JEOL SEM-EDS electron microscope, which identifies all six types of asbestos. The analysis costs €49.99 incl. VAT per sample, and you pay by card when you order. You receive the result in English by email on the same day the sample arrives at the laboratory. Postage is not included in the price. You can order the analysis online and post the sample as a letter or small parcel with your national postal service.