Alfred Sant has recast the spotlight on the fate of hundreds of European Commission employees, including 50 Maltese, still working in an asbestos-ridden building.

The Labour MEP asked the Brussels executive whether it had a definite date by when it was to relocate its employees from the Jean Monnet Building in Luxembourg.

Last July, the Luxembourg newspaper Le Quotidien revealed that killer asbestos was discovered in the Jean Monnet building and two people had already fallen ill as a result of the hazardous material.

Asbestos fibres can accumulate inside the respiratory tract over a long span of time and, in some cases, may provoke lung cancer.

The material, which was used in construction, was banned in 1989 but could still be found in various areas of the Jean Monnet building such as false ceilings, fire doors and floor tiles.

There is no imminent danger to current employees

The building opened in 1975 and although its lease expires at the end of this year, construction work on a new building to house the Commission employees has been slow.

In a parliamentary question, Dr Sant asked whether any plans were in place to transfer the employees from the building and how many employees had suffered an occupational disease as a result of asbestos.

He also queried why it took the Commission almost 20 years from the first partial moves in 1995, to complete the transfer of its employees out of the building.

In 2009 the Commission had issued EU legislation on the protection of workers from risks related to the exposure of asbestos at work.

The Commission is expected to reply to the Maltese MEP’s query in the beginning of January.

In July, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel said an evacuation order should be issued “as soon as possible” after three confirmed cases of asbestos-linked diseases.

A commission spokesman had told Le Quotidien there was “no imminent danger” to current employees but employees has to leave the building once the lease ended in 2014.