Problem of asbestos-containing wastes in Poland
Robert Kusiorowski, B. Lipowska, Magdalena Kujawa, Anna Gerle
Abstract
Since the end of the 20th century, exactly from 1997, the production and use of asbestos have been banned in Poland. In 2002, the Council of Ministers adopted a national program manage installed asbestos containing materials (ACM), which is expected to end by 2032. According to the adopted program, asbestos-containing materials should be completely eliminated from use and safely deposited in landfills dedicated to hazardous waste. Although a long time has passed since the plan was launched, there is still a huge volumes – counted in millions of tons – of asbestos-containing products on the territory of Poland. In the article, the most important information on asbestos, its properties and main directions of application have been presented. The specific purpose of this article as to provide a progress report in the implementation of the national program of asbestos removal. This aim was realized based on the data available in the national database on asbestos issues.