Asbestos in Belgium: Why Official Figures Underestimate the Real Tragedy
When you mention “asbestos,” you often get the same reaction:
“Isn’t that something from the past?”
“Isn’t that something from the past?”
The reality in Belgium is very different.
And above all: much harsher.
And above all: much harsher.
For decades, our country was a world champion in asbestos use.
Today, this is reflected mercilessly in health statistics.
Today, this is reflected mercilessly in health statistics.
Belgium has one of the highest mesothelioma mortality rates per capita in the world. And yet, the true number of asbestos victims remains heavily underestimated and largely invisible.
In this blog post, I explain why there is such a large gap between:
official deaths
recognized victims
the actual number of asbestos victims
Official deaths: what appears on paper
When someone dies, a physician completes a death certificate.
This document lists one primary cause of death, which is placed into a statistical category
(for example: “pleural mesothelioma”).
This document lists one primary cause of death, which is placed into a statistical category
(for example: “pleural mesothelioma”).
This produces what we call official deaths.
What does that mean in practice?
These figures mainly concern people who die from mesothelioma,
the typical asbestos-related cancer of the (primarily) pleura or peritoneum.
the typical asbestos-related cancer of the (primarily) pleura or peritoneum.
These causes of death are coded and aggregated in national and international statistics.
What do the Belgian figures show?
Studies based on causes of death indicate that Belgium has the fourth highest mesothelioma mortality rate per capita worldwide, after the United Kingdom, Australia, and Italy.
Since 2006, more than 200 Belgians die from mesothelioma every year.
These numbers are already staggering.
But even they represent only the beginning of the story.
But even they represent only the beginning of the story.
Recognized victims: those seen by the asbestos fund
In 2007, the Belgian government established the Asbestos Fund
(AFA, managed by Fedris).
(AFA, managed by Fedris).
The idea was noble (the implementation somewhat less so):
to compensate asbestos victims quickly, without forcing them into years of exhausting legal battles.
to compensate asbestos victims quickly, without forcing them into years of exhausting legal battles.
Who is eligible?
People with an asbestos-related disease
(e.g. mesothelioma or certain forms of lung cancer).
(e.g. mesothelioma or certain forms of lung cancer).
People who can demonstrate exposure to asbestos
(occupational exposure, living near a factory, family members of workers, etc.).
(occupational exposure, living near a factory, family members of workers, etc.).
These individuals (or their relatives) submit a claim to the Asbestos Fund.
If the claim is accepted, the person is considered a recognized victim.
If the claim is accepted, the person is considered a recognized victim.
Some figures
Between 2007 and 2023, the Asbestos Fund recognized 4,614 victims, including 3,354 mesothelioma patients.
In 2023 alone, 253 mesothelioma victims were recognized:
a record year, well above the average of approximately 200 cases per year.
a record year, well above the average of approximately 200 cases per year.
Important to understand
Not everyone knows that the Asbestos Fund exists.
Not everyone has the energy or time to start a claim, especially when seriously ill.
Not every claim is accepted
(insufficient proof of exposure, unclear history, etc.).
(insufficient proof of exposure, unclear history, etc.).
Recognized victims are therefore only those who make it through the administrative filter.
The true human toll lies far beyond that.
Moreover, the Asbestos Fund is controversial:
in practice, it often appears to serve employers’ interests more than those of victims.
in practice, it often appears to serve employers’ interests more than those of victims.
A detailed blog post on this issue will follow soon.
The true number of asbestos victims: the invisible majority
The third category - and by far the largest - consists of the actual asbestos victims.
These are all people for whom asbestos played a medically significant role in their illness or death, even if this was never officially recorded or recognized.
Consider, for example:
Lung cancer patients for whom asbestos was a major cause,
but who appear in statistics simply as “lung cancer.”
but who appear in statistics simply as “lung cancer.”
People with asbestosis or other chronic asbestos-related lung diseases
that were never reported as occupational diseases.
that were never reported as occupational diseases.
Victims who never submitted a claim to the Asbestos Fund
(due to lack of awareness, high thresholds, or time constraints).
(due to lack of awareness, high thresholds, or time constraints).
People exposed through homes, schools, public buildings,
or living near factories—outside a traditional occupational framework.
or living near factories—outside a traditional occupational framework.
What do international data show?
In Europe, more than 70,000 people died in 2019 from the consequences of past occupational asbestos exposure.
Asbestos is responsible for an estimated 78% of all recognized occupational cancers in the EU.
Studies (including from the UK) show that the number of asbestos-related lung cancers is at least as high as the number of mesothelioma cases, and possibly many times higher.
What does this mean for Belgium?
Belgium is among the countries with the highest mesothelioma mortality rates per capita worldwide.
If these proportions are applied to Belgium, it is logical to conclude that:
the true number of asbestos-related deaths in Belgium exceeds 1,500 per year,
far more than the 200+ registered mesothelioma deaths alone.
far more than the 200+ registered mesothelioma deaths alone.
Not all of these people appear in statistics.
Their stories often unfold quietly: in hospital rooms, at kitchen tables,
in death notices where the word “asbestos” is never mentioned.
in death notices where the word “asbestos” is never mentioned.
A confronting calculation
At the Global Asbestos Forum in Norway (November 2025),
Dr. Jukka Takala, an internationally renowned asbestos expert,
addressed the severe underestimation of asbestos victims.
Dr. Jukka Takala, an internationally renowned asbestos expert,
addressed the severe underestimation of asbestos victims.
He stated:
“One in five lung cancers is attributable to asbestos.”
In Belgium, approximately 7,500 people die from lung cancer each year.
This means:
around 200 known mesothelioma deaths, and
around 1,500 lung cancer deaths caused by asbestos.
Together, this amounts to approximately 1,700 fatal asbestos victims per year,
without even accounting for other asbestos-related cancers and diseases.
without even accounting for other asbestos-related cancers and diseases.
Why does this remain so underreported?
Why don’t we hear about this every week in the news?
Complex statisticsAsbestos-related diseases are difficult to attribute to a single cause.
The damage often manifests 30 to 50 years later.
Registering “lung cancer” is easier than registering “lung cancer caused by asbestos.”
The damage often manifests 30 to 50 years later.
Registering “lung cancer” is easier than registering “lung cancer caused by asbestos.”
Fragmented responsibility
Who is to blame?
The manufacturer? The employer? The government that intervened too late?
This diffuse responsibility ensures that no one fully claims the story.
Who is to blame?
The manufacturer? The employer? The government that intervened too late?
This diffuse responsibility ensures that no one fully claims the story.
The narrative that “asbestos is a thing of the past”
Asbestos is banned, so the problem appears solved.
Yet the material is still present in millions of buildings
and poses a real and current risk during renovations and refurbishments.
Asbestos is banned, so the problem appears solved.
Yet the material is still present in millions of buildings
and poses a real and current risk during renovations and refurbishments.
Silent victims
Those who are ill first fight for their health and their families.
Running a media campaign often comes last.
That is precisely why it is so important to keep telling this story.
Those who are ill first fight for their health and their families.
Running a media campaign often comes last.
That is precisely why it is so important to keep telling this story.
The mission of Asbestspotter
With Asbestspotter, I aim to show that asbestos is not a thing of the past,
but an ongoing public health crisis with a long tail.
but an ongoing public health crisis with a long tail.
Asbestspotter stands for:
Awareness
Where is asbestos still present? What are the risks? When must action be taken?
Where is asbestos still present? What are the risks? When must action be taken?
Recognition
Learning to identify suspicious materials: without panic, but with knowledge.
Learning to identify suspicious materials: without panic, but with knowledge.
Safe approach
Guiding property owners, building managers, schools, and companies
toward the right inventory, the right contractor, and the right measures.
Guiding property owners, building managers, schools, and companies
toward the right inventory, the right contractor, and the right measures.
A voice for victims
Translating numbers into stories, so the human face behind the “statistics” becomes visible.
Translating numbers into stories, so the human face behind the “statistics” becomes visible.
The better people understand the gap between official deaths, recognized victims, and the true toll, the harder it becomes to downplay this problem.
What can you do?
A few very concrete steps:
Share this information
Via social media, newsletters, or internal workplace communication.
Via social media, newsletters, or internal workplace communication.
Ask for an asbestos inventory
Is your home or building from before 2001?
Get informed before renovating.
Is your home or building from before 2001?
Get informed before renovating.
Ask questions
To your building manager, employer, school, or municipality:
“Is there an asbestos inventory? How are people being protected?”
To your building manager, employer, school, or municipality:
“Is there an asbestos inventory? How are people being protected?”
Follow Asbestspotter
For practical tips, identification guides, and updates on policy and case law.
For practical tips, identification guides, and updates on policy and case law.
Belgium is not a footnote in the global asbestos story.
Our country was once a historic champion in asbestos consumption.
Today, thousands of families pay the price every year.
Today, thousands of families pay the price every year.
As long as the gap between official figures and the true toll remains this large,
there is still much work to be done.
there is still much work to be done.
As Asbestspotter, I will continue to tell this story.
With numbers, but above all, with people in mind.
With numbers, but above all, with people in mind.
With thanks to Dr. Yvonne Waterman for her help in preparing this article,
and to Dr. Jukka Takala for making his presentation available.
and to Dr. Jukka Takala for making his presentation available.
The full article “Global Asbestos Disaster” can be found here:
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/5/1000
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/5/1000
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