Brussels gave Spain an ultimatum in December 2025: transpose the European directive on asbestos or face the EU Court of Justice. The Ministry of Labour has spent months finalising a royal decree that will tighten the rules for any company that could come into contact with this material.
Por qué España está bajo presión europea
The EU directive on protecting workers from asbestos was supposed to be in force in Spain since December 2024. It was not. Brussels sent a formal notice with a two-month deadline to respond, under threat of referral to the Court of Justice.
This is not a minor formality. In 2021, Spain was the fourth EU country with the most work-related deaths attributed to asbestos: 212 deaths out of 2,380 across the whole Union. Only Italy, Germany, and France recorded more.
Qué cambia con el nuevo real decreto
The Ministry of Labour's draft introduces changes that directly affect the operations of any company that works with, or in, buildings that may contain asbestos:
Nuevos límites de exposición. Measurement will no longer be done with optical microscopy, but with electron microscopy, which detects much finer and more dangerous fibres.
Inventario obligatorio en edificios anteriores a 2002. Si gestionas instalaciones industriales, naves o plantas de esa época, necesitas identificar si hay amianto antes de cualquier intervención.
Prioridad a la retirada segura frente al encapsulamiento. Cubrir el amianto deja de ser la opción por defecto.
Tiempo de aseo garantizado: 10 minutos antes de cada comida y 10 al salir del trabajo para empleados en zonas de exposición.
Ampliación de patologías reconocidas, incluyendo el cáncer de ovarios como enfermedad derivada del amianto.
Refuerzo del registro sanitario de trabajadores expuestos a cargo de la sanidad pública.
Qué sectores tienen mayor exposición
Around 2,700 companies have carried out or are carrying out activities with exposure risk since 2004, and close to 70,000 workers have been or are in contact with these fibres, according to the Epidemiological Surveillance Programme.
Construcción y rehabilitación de edificios anteriores a 2002.
Industria naval y ferroviaria.
Plantas industriales con instalaciones antiguas: tuberías, aislamientos, cubiertas.
Mantenimiento de naves logísticas y fábricas construidas antes de los años 2000.
Tres pasos que tu empresa puede dar ahora
The royal decree has no official approval date, but the European deadline is already running. Waiting for it to come into force before acting is the most common mistake — and the most expensive one.
Audita tus instalaciones. If you operate in buildings built before 2002, commission an inventory of asbestos-containing materials now. The assessment process takes time, and the obligation will arrive all at once.
Revisa tu protocolo de medición. If you use optical microscopy, that method will stop being valid. Contact your external prevention service to adapt the procedure before it's required of you.
Documenta y registra en tiempo real. The new decree strengthens documentary control over exposed workers. An up-to-date record — not just on paper — makes the difference during an inspection.
La documentación es donde las empresas fallan
Asbestos is a known risk, but the documentary management of exposure remains the weak point in many industrial plants. Recording who was exposed, when, and at what concentration values is what separates compliance from a penalty.
Safe records every intervention in risk zones with visual evidence, tracks the workers involved, and generates the documentary history you need to demonstrate compliance to the ITSS.Solicita una demo y comprueba cómo funciona en tu planta.