In 2018 it will be 25 years since the asbestos ban came into force in the Netherlands. This 'birthday' was reason for the Asbestos Victims Institute (IAS) to organize a symposium. What can we learn from the past and what is the current state of affairs with the asbestos problem? An impression of the symposium can be read on the website of the IAS.
The import and processing of asbestos was banned in 1993. But that did not mean that contact with asbestos was no longer possible. On the contrary, due to the enormous amounts of asbestos that were imported in the second half of the last century, the country is still full of asbestos. Every day, reports are received from the SZW Inspectorate that asbestos was found during excavation work in the soil. In and around homes and buildings, asbestos has been processed. Many asbestos saniters earn a living with the safe disposal of asbestos.
Nevertheless, the ban on asbestos and the strict regulation of remediation of asbestos had a favorable effect on the number of asbestos victims. It is true that more than five hundred people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year, but for the most part these are men who have been professionally in contact with asbestos in the second half of the last century. At the IAS, few victims report that were exposed after 1993. The asbestos ban has therefore had a clear effect.
Nevertheless, it can not be ruled out that no victims will be exposed after 1993. Ten to more than sixty years after exposure one can still get a disease. The starting point is to prevent any exposure to asbestos.
It is also important that, if an exposure nevertheless takes place, this can then be documented properly. It is a small chance, but it can not be ruled out that this can lead to a disease. And if you get sick, it is clear what the cause is and who can be held liable.
The current practice of the IAS shows how difficult it is to prove that one has been exposed to asbestos in the past. The fact that in those days working with asbestos was customary in certain professions or a vague memory of the victim that he had been in contact with asbestos, is insufficient to receive compensation. An asbestos victim must be able to prove that he was employed by a company and that asbestos was processed there. This proof is often difficult to deliver after fifty years.
At the IAS symposium, a handy tool was presented to better document the asbestos contact that took place recently: the asbestos register. In the asbestos register all knowledge of the IAS is summarized on conditions under which asbestos exposure takes place. In a few simple steps the user is guided through a number of questions. The user can add documents and photos to the file. He or she also has the opportunity at a later time to complete the file.
How the asbestos register can be used turned out last fall. It then became known that steel grit was contaminated with asbestos on a large scale in the Netherlands. The IAS was approached with questions about liability. The employees who were exposed were informed of the pilot version of the asbestos register. Companies using the blasting grit can also refer their employees to this facility. This shows that the asbestos register meets a need.
When using the asbestos register it is important to realize that the chance of becoming ill from an incidental asbestos exposure is very small. But to be sure, it is better to document this exposure. In fact, a file is built up that one hope will never be used.
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