• Project number: F2595
• Institution: Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)
• Status: Ongoing Project
• Planned end: 2030-06-30

Description:

It has long been established through epidemiological research that fibres of asbestos thinner than 3 µm can be inhaled deeply into the lungs, where they can cause chronic inflammation and lung cancer.

The revised EU directive 2023/2668 introduces new upper limits for the number of asbestos fibres in dust at the workplace, with a transition period of six years. In one of the two approaches described in the directive, the fibre number now includes in addition to asbestos fibres thicker than 0.2 µm, also "thin" asbestos fibres with thicknesses below 0.2 µm for the first time. It is important to note that these thin asbestos fibres present a health risk likewise. However, the detection of these thin fibres requires a significantly higher analytical effort, which cannot be achieved with conventional light microscopes. It is essential to determine which resolutions and analytical sensitivities are necessary for the reliable detection of thin asbestos fibres, even when using electron microscopes, which have a higher resolution in principle.

As part of the project AIDA, a large-scale examination of workplace samples from the long-term archive of IFA of DGUV will be conducted at BAuA using an automated, AI-supported, high-resolution scanning electron microscope. The objective is to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the prevalence of thin asbestos fibres in various workplaces and across different asbestos types. This will facilitate a more accurate assessment of the reliability of asbestos measurements thicker than 0.2 µm as a measure of workplace protection, and help determine whether low-resolution microscopes are significantly underestimating the health risks posed by thin asbestos fibres.