25 years after asbestos prohibition hundreds of people die annually from asbestos diseases

In the Netherlands, several hundred people die each year from the consequences of unprotected handling of asbestos. Also 25 years after the ban on the use of asbestos, about 600 applications are submitted to the Institute for Asbestos Victims (IAS) for an allowance. This number has been stable for about 10 years. It is expected that up to 2035, as many as 8,000 people will discover an asbestos related disease. In most cases, it is deadly.

This expectation was presented by A. Burdorf, professor of Public Health at Erasmus MC, during the symposium ’25 years of asbestos prohibition ‘, organized by the Asbestos Victims Institute. Asbestos victims, pulmonologists, advocates and other experts dealt among other things with the question of whether enough is being done for the current victims and to prevent victims in the future.

Due to the very long latency of asbestos-related disorders – on average 40 years – it is often difficult to establish liability afterwards. For this reason, the IAS has opened an asbestos register. Who knows or suspects that he or she has been exposed to asbestos in the past or recent, even if there is not (yet) any illness, can register here. If necessary, the stored information can help to build a good proof position at a later stage.

The register is not only open to (former) employees, but also to others who suspect that they have come into direct or indirect contact with asbestos. For example, family members who came into contact with asbestos fibers or people who were in the vicinity of an asbestos fire or other circumstances in which asbestos was released into the environment. The register can be found on www.asbestregister.nl

An important subject for asbestos victims is the wish not to apply the formal limitation period of 30 years. Due to the long latency period, asbestos related diseases often only reveal themselves after the expiration of the limitation period.

Fortunately, many (former) employers and insurers take their responsibility in practice and despite the exceeding of the formal limitation period, a compensation is paid to the victim or relatives. In about 50 cases per year, appeal is still made to prescription. Parties therefore strive for a regulation in which stakeholders make agreements with each other about how to deal with the limitation period.

Prof. dr. Job de Ruiterprijs Every two years the Prof. dr. Job de Ruiter award awarded to a person who has made a remarkable contribution to asbestos victims. Rob van der Heijden, chairman of the Asbestos Victims Institute, awarded this award to Leon Widdershoven, former chairman of the Asbestos Victims Association Netherlands, because of his great merit for asbestos victims in the Netherlands.