Asbestos removal from industrial installations

Since August 2015, the Dutch Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) has been conducting asbestos inspections at companies with industrial installations. The initial focus is on the food and drinks industry in view of the potential effects on public health of asbestos fibres being released into the food chain. 

For a long time, asbestos was known for its beneficial properties: strong, hard-wearing and able to withstand moisture and high temperatures. But studies have revealed that exposure to asbestos fibres can have severe consequences for human health. Asbestos is still present in many industrial processing installations which were built or assembled before 1 January 1994, which is why ILT is conducting inspections at companies with one or more processing installations.

Inspections

The inspections first check whether the company in question is aware of the asbestos legislation and, if so, what the company is doing to avoid people and the environment becoming exposed to asbestos fibres. Based on an overview of the installations and the maintenance logbooks, the inspectors verify whether the maintenance work on the installations has been conducted in accordance with the Asbestos Removal Decree: in the case of the disassembly (for maintenance or renovation) of an installation dating from before 1994, does the company have an asbestos inventory report for that installation which has been compiled by a certified company (SC 540)? Were and/or are asbestos removal activities with a greater risk of exposure to asbestos fibres performed by a certified company (SC 530)? Is all asbestos removed first, before other activities are performed on the installation? The inspectors also check whether any spare parts containing asbestos are present in the maintenance warehouse. 

Limited knowledge

Most people know that asbestos fibres present a health hazard. Hence, companies are open to making the necessary adjustments if any shortcomings are identified and they often implement immediate action to reduce the risks. But there is still room for improvement, according to ILT; there should be greater awareness that applications containing asbestos could be present in industrial installations. Among companies, knowledge of the asbestos legislation is currently still very limited which means that compliance with the legislation is also limited. Over 40% of the companies with industrial installation(s) do not (fully) comply with the asbestos legislation.

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