Preliminary Bill 217, introduced on October 21, 2026, by Representative Edwin Vergara Castillo of constituency 13-3, covering Chame and San Carlos, proposes banning asbestos in Panama and requiring safe management of material already installed. It remains preliminary, awaiting committee adoption, and has been referred to the Labor, Health and Social Development Committee.

Article 3 prohibits the extraction, production, sale, import, distribution, export and use of every variety of asbestos and products containing it throughout the country. Reuse and recycling would also be prohibited. The same article bars cutting, drilling, sanding or burning installed asbestos when fibers could be released, except during authorized maintenance or removal work. Article 4 clarifies that the prohibition would not require immediate removal of material already in place, which could remain while it presents no risk. Article 6 assigns the National Customs Authority responsibility for preventing its entry and exit, and Article 8 places asbestos waste under the hazardous waste regime.

Article 5 establishes a National Program for the Replacement and Safe Management of Installed Asbestos. The Ministry of Health would lead it alongside the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Labor, the National Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers, and the National Council for Sustainable Development. Schools, health facilities and water supply networks would receive priority under an implementation plan lasting up to five years. For importers, hardware stores and the construction industry, the proposal would close the market for new asbestos-containing products. For removal and certification businesses, it could generate demand for specialized services. Article 7 requires existing products to be withdrawn from the market during a transition period to be defined in the implementing regulations.

Article 10 directs the Executive Branch to issue regulations within six months, covering inspection, removal, final disposal and company certification. Article 9 assigns sanctions to the health authority under the Health Code. The text is not yet law and still requires committee adoption and three debates. If approved and promulgated, its deadlines would begin upon entry into force, provided for the day after publication in the Official Gazette under Article 12. Existing installed material and new products are therefore treated differently in the proposal; it does not establish an immediate, general obligation to remove everything already in use. Nexo Capital will follow the legislative progress of Preliminary Bill 217.

Research assisted by Sentinel, with editorial verification of official sources. Discover Legislat.ai