A lot is going to happen in the world of asbestos remediation in the coming period. For example, all asbestos must be removed from Dutch roofs before 2024 and it must be possible to remove asbestos with a robot within 5 years. At least, if it is up to TNO. This was announced on Monday 25 September at the National Asbestos Facts Congress.
"Together we face a major and difficult task," said Nicole Kroon, Director of Supervision at the Social Affairs and Employment Inspectorate (SZW), at the meeting. According to Kroon, the above goals can only be achieved by working together. This applies to inspectorates, investors and remediators.
A total of 100 million square meters of asbestos must be removed. The majority of this comes from agricultural farm buildings. The aim is to have the asbestos removed before January 1, 2024.
Robot can help
The Netherlands is well ahead in the field of remediation and inspection. In 5 years 'remote sensing' can be used to see whether a stable contains asbestos and the extent to which that asbestos is then present.
The plates can be removed and replaced with the help of drones. The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) is working on developing this so that asbestos can be reused in a sustainable way in the future.
Many steps taken
Significant strides have already been made in recent years. As of January 1, 2017, new certification schemes have been developed and the limit values have been tightened, so that work can be done more safely. In addition, the Inspectorate carries out unannounced inspections. These checks contribute to the safe and rapid removal of asbestos. A covenant was also concluded with the Environment Agency in May.
Whatever happens, the biggest problem, however, remains labour. This amount of asbestos cannot even be removed if twice as many workers are deployed. The Asbestos Facts Congress shows that the sector is working hard to train enough people.
© DCA Market Intelligence. This market information is subject to copyright. It is not permitted to reproduce, distribute, disseminate or make the content available to third parties for compensation, in any form, without the express written permission of DCA Market Intelligence.