There are also commercial buildings, garages, stables and barns in agriculture.” The district chairwoman of IG BAU Südbaden refers to the “Asbestos Situation Analysis” that the construction union commissioned from the Pestel Institute (Hannover).
“Asbestos is a carcinogenic substance. Anyone who lives in a house contaminated with asbestos still doesn’t have to worry. It only becomes critical during renovation work. “Asbestos can then be released and become a serious problem,” says Ilse Bruttel. She warns of an “invisible danger” when old buildings become construction sites: “It all starts with construction dust and the inhalation of asbestos fibers. Construction workers and do-it-yourselfers have little chance of recognizing this danger.” It takes up to 30 years before the tragic diagnosis occurs: asbestosis – with lung, peritoneal or larynx cancer. For complete protection during renovation work involving the risk of asbestos, at least one FFP3 respiratory mask is always required. Also a must: overalls, safety glasses and gloves.
“Old buildings in the region are a storehouse of asbestos weighing tons. The carcinogenic mineral fiber is found in many building materials. The ‘asbestos traps’ lurk everywhere: asbestos is often found in plaster and even in fillers and tile adhesives. But especially in asbestos cement. This was mainly used to make pipes, facade cladding and roof coverings. Eternit was typical for the West, Baufanit for the East,” says Ilse Bruttel. Spray asbestos is a big problem: “The asbestos fibers are more weakly bound here. They can therefore be released more easily. In particular, elevator shafts and shafts with supply and disposal lines were previously intensively covered with sprayed asbestos,” explains Bruttel.
IG BAU Südbaden speaks of a new “asbestos danger”: “We are at the beginning of two decades of renovation. The energetic renovation of buildings will gain enormous momentum. In order to achieve the climate protection goals, a large proportion of the old buildings in the region will also be ‘touched’ in the next few years.” In most cases, it is not just a simple energy-saving renovation: “Residential buildings are being modernized and converted to be suitable for seniors and families. It will be expanded and expanded to create more living space,” says Bruttel.
With the wave of renovation there is now a threat of a ‘wave of asbestos’ in construction. “It is a danger – for construction workers as well as for do-it-yourselfers,” says the district chairwoman of the construction union. But IG BAU and the Pestel Institute also give the all-clear. They have a clear message for people who live in residential buildings that were built with building materials containing asbestos: “There is no immediate risk to health.” However, when renovating while inhabited, it is important to “do it professionally with the greatest care.” to proceed,” warn Ilse Bruttel and the head of the Pestel Institute, Matthias Günther.
IG BAU now wants to counter the impending “wave of asbestos” in construction with a package of measures. The construction union has presented a nationwide “Asbestos Charter” with central demands for more protection against asbestos. The 5-point catalog can be requested from IG BAU Südbaden: freiburg@igbau.de. “It’s about better information about asbestos dangers in buildings, the promotion of asbestos renovation and, above all, consistent occupational safety. The upcoming renovation boom must not lead to a wave of illness,” warns Ilse Bruttel.
The trade unionist is calling for a pollution building pass with different danger levels for the respective asbestos contamination in a building. “Every construction worker and every do-it-yourselfer must know what they are getting into when they chip away at tiles, tear down walls or renovate facades,” says Ilse Bruttel.
She also advocates for a state renovation bonus. To do this, the federal government must create a KfW “Asbestos Remediation” funding program. “This helps to cushion the additional costs that arise when renovating buildings contaminated with asbestos, for example to improve energy efficiency or age-appropriate properties. “It would also make it possible to ensure the proper disposal of old asbestos building materials,” said the chairwoman of IG BAU Südbaden.
The union is therefore calling for intensive asbestos education: “Construction workers and do-it-yourselfers need to know what the optimal protection against asbestos looks like. And that has to be said to people in the language they understand – to foreign employees also in their native language,” says Ilse Bruttel. She is therefore calling for an information campaign by the federal and state governments. It is now the turn of the local members of the Bundestag to counter the impending dangers of an “asbestos wave” in good time with an effective package of measures.
The dimension and therefore the danger posed by asbestos is enormous: according to the Pestel Institute, a total of around 4.35 million tons of asbestos were imported nationwide from 1950 to 1990 (East and West Germany). Around 3,500 products were manufactured from this – most of them for the construction sector: almost 44 million tons of asbestos-contaminated building material are in existing buildings nationwide. According to IG BAU, 3,376 people insured by the construction trade association (BG BAU) have died in the past ten years as a result of an asbestos-related occupational disease – including 320 construction workers last year alone.
(Press release: Construction-Agriculture-Environment Industrial Union, South Baden District Association, November 13, 2023)
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