Posted on August 31, 2026

Asbestos exposure remains one of the world’s most persistent public health challenges. Despite decades of scientific evidence proving its danger and regulatory action against the toxin, millions of people remain at risk from this deadly carcinogen.

On October 28–29, 2026, Asbestonomy will hold its fifth annual international conference at the Couvent des Jacobins in Rennes, France. Following previous conferences in London, Brussels, Madrid, and Berlin, the event will unite experts, advocates, public officials, and industry professionals to advance practical solutions for asbestos prevention and management.

Thirty Years of Asbestos Regulation in France

Founded in 2022, Asbestonomy works to reduce asbestos exposure worldwide, an urgent mission shared by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.

France has one of Europe’s most developed asbestos-management systems. The 2026 conference will examine lessons learned from 30 years of French asbestos regulation, including progress, remaining challenges, and the realities of identifying, managing, and removing asbestos.

The conference will immediately follow BatiNovia, France’s leading national event dedicated to the asbestos sector. Together, the two events will give participants both a national and international perspective and legal and legislative takeaways that participants can bring back home.

The Global Threat Continues

Asbestos remains legal and in use in many countries. Even where it has been banned, legacy asbestos remains in millions of homes, schools, workplaces, and public buildings, potentially putting the general public at risk just for going about their daily lives.

Renovation, demolition, deterioration, natural disasters, and conflict can release microscopic asbestos fibers into the air. Exposure can cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and other diseases, which often develop decades later.

There is no safe level of asbestos exposure, and prevention remains the only cure.

Lessons from the United States

At Asbestonomy 2026, I will discuss the consequences of inadequate asbestos prevention, delayed public policy, and the failure to manage the long-term health and environmental legacy of asbestos in the United States.

My presentation will include a case study on the demolition of the White House East Wing and the critical questions it raised about asbestos inspections, worker protections, regulatory compliance, transparency, and accountability. ADAO submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act under the belief that life-saving information about potential abstracts exposure should never be hidden from the public. 

The United States still lacks a comprehensive ban covering all six recognized asbestos fibers and Libby Amphibole. The bipartisan Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act offers a path toward ending commercial asbestos use and preventing future exposure.

From Knowledge to Action

The Asbestonomy 2026 program will address:

  • Thirty years of French asbestos regulation
  • Asbestos inspections and occupational exposure limits across Europe
  • The implementation of European Union Directive 2023/2668
  • Advances in asbestos detection and analysis
  • Prevention and public-policy failures in the United States
  • Asbestos-contaminated debris in Ukraine and other conflict zones
  • The growing role of artificial intelligence in asbestos management

Asbestonomy is more than a conference. It is an international community committed to turning knowledge into action. We already possess the science and tools needed to prevent asbestos exposure. What we need now is the political will and international cooperation to use them.

Register for Asbestonomy 2026

Dates: October 28–29, 2026
Venue: Couvent des Jacobins
Address: 20 Place Sainte-Anne, 35000 Rennes, France

To view the program or register, visit the Asbestonomy website.

Together, we can ensure that asbestos becomes part of our past—not our future.

~ Linda Reinstein