Stiff fine for illegal asbestos removal

A housing corporation got slapped with a €108,000 fine for illegal removal of asbestos from a building in its care. Asbestos removal (asbestcrew.nl) The Social Affairs Ministry said in a press release today that following up on a complaint, inspectors had gone to the housing location in Venloo, where they found that the housing association’s technical department had been carrying repairs to units that were damaged by vandals. “The workers of the technical department were aware that that the building dated from the seventies and that its sheets probably contained asbestos, but they still carried out the repairs themselves,” the release said. The Netherlands banned the use of asbestos in 1994 as its use can cause serious health problems; companies that remove it have to be certified and before they start they have to first alert the Social Affairs Inspectorate. The Ministry said the housing association thus violated several rules. “Workers did not wear protective breathing gear and did not take other personal protective measures. And the asbestos debris was not properly disposed of,” it said. Apparently strips of sheets from the building were strewn all around the building and on the lawns. Besides the stiff fine, the housing corporation was also served a warning not to violate the asbestos regulations again. “One more of such a violation and the decision might be taken to close the company for a longer period of time,” the Ministry said, stressing that dealing with the asbestos problem is one of its main attention points, for which a special team of inspectors has been established.