Selected legal and financial conditions for the liquidation of asbestos and products containing asbestos illustrated with an example of rural municipalities in the Podlaskie Voivodeship

Abstract

The article indicates selected legal and environmental conditions for the decommissioning of asbestos and asbestos products using the subject literature, own research and existing data. The legal basis is the Act of 19 June 1997 on the prohibition of the use of products containing asbestos (volume 2017, item 2119). Legislative framework is complemented by executive acts to it. The governmental programs for asbestos removal are a tool for implementation. The Ministry of the Environment, as an internal law, prepared guidelines, information and procedures for dealing with products containing asbestos. Own research was carried out in 77 rural communes in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Their subject was the asbestos problem in the context of the “Program of cleansing the country from asbestos for years. 2009-2032”. The research was carried out in the social, economic and environmental dimension. In the rural communes of the Podlaskie Voivodeship, the asbestos problem is an important barrier to economic development, and the amount of this material and its products is still an environmental threat. It is caused by a shortage of fi nancial resources and low social awareness of rural residents and local government.