With the “Fair House” campaign, the Public Waste Agency in Flanders (OVAM) wants to inform Flemish people of an asbestos inventory certificate, or asbestos test for short, which will become mandatory from the end of November for the sale of a house built before 2001.
With a large inventory of asbestos-containing materials in homes, Flanders wants to determine where the asbestos is, in what condition and if it needs to be removed. From November 23, asbestos testing is mandatory.
“Asbestos testing does not always mean that existing asbestos must also be removed,” says Ann Quikins, chief of department at OVAM. “Removal is only necessary if the presence of asbestos poses a risk.”
Flanders safe from asbestos
Asbestos testing is one of the first action points of the Flemish government’s policy to reduce asbestos. The goal is to move to asbestos-safe Flanders by 2040. With the “Fair House” campaign, OVAM wants to make Flemish people aware of the content and usefulness of the degree.
“Asbestos is a huge problem that we carry with us from the past, and it hasn’t gone away yet,” Quikins says. The phase-out policy includes four pillars: inventory, removal, management and prohibited applications or actions.
It is estimated that all Flemish buildings together contain 2.3 million tons of asbestos. 865,000 of these are in private homes.
Certified asbestos experts will begin inventorying these homes from June 1, but the actual obligation will only apply from the end of November and on homes built prior to 2001.
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