30 April 2015 – A high-level meeting on
environment and health in Europe today appealed urgently to all European countries
to eliminate asbestos-related diseases, as a new United Nations report showed
that one third of the 900 million people living in the region are potentially
exposed to asbestos at work and in the environment.
“We cannot afford losing almost 15,000 lives a
year in Europe, especially workers, from diseases caused by exposure to
asbestos,” Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, the World Health Organization’s Regional
Director for Europe was quoted as saying in a press release issued
in Haifa, Israel, where more than 200 delegates met from 28-30 April to
evaluate progress on environment and health in Europe.
“Every death from asbestos-related diseases is
avoidable,” Dr. Jakab said. “We urge all countries to leave the Haifa meeting
to fulfil their 2010 commitment and develop policies by the end of this year
that will eliminate asbestos-related diseases from the face of Europe.”
“There is very little time left for that,” she
said.
Elimination of asbestos-related diseases was
one of the major issues discussed at the Haifa meeting, according to WHO.
For more please click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment