About AFA

The Asbestos Fund: compensate, prevent, and guide

Our mission is to support all asbestos victims in Belgium. We compensate people who have developed a disease due to asbestos, such as employees in the private sector, self-employed individuals, civil servants, or environmental victims. In the event of death, certain surviving relatives may also be eligible for compensation under specific conditions.

In addition to financial support, we provide personal guidance to victims and their loved ones. We inform them about their rights, guide them through the necessary steps, and ensure clear and accessible support throughout the entire process.

We also focus on prevention: we raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos and reduce the risks of exposure. Through informative campaigns and scientific research, we work towards a better understanding of asbestos and the protection of public health.

The Asbestos Fund is organizationally integrated within Fedris, the Federal Agency for Occupational Risks. The main tasks of Fedris are to monitor whether employers and insurance companies comply with legislation on occupational accidents, to compensate victims of occupational diseases and accidents, and to take preventive measures to avoid occupational accidents and diseases.

Difference between the Asbestos Fund and Fedris

Fedris compensates asbestos victims through two systems: the Asbestos Fund and the occupational disease scheme (social security for employees). The compensations are not always the same and can be combined fully or partially. Each application is evaluated in both systems.

Within the occupational disease scheme, only employees of the private sector and of provincial and local authorities who have been professionally exposed to asbestos are eligible. The Asbestos Fund, on the other hand, compensates all asbestos victims, as long as the exposure occurred in Belgium: private sector employees, self-employed individuals, civil servants, and environmental victims.

Both systems cover diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, bilateral diffuse pleural thickening, and asbestos-related cancers of the lungs, larynx, and ovaries. In addition, pleural plaques can be compensated under the occupational disease scheme when they cause a limitation of lung function.

In the event of death, some of the victim’s surviving relatives may also receive compensation. Under the Asbestos Fund, they receive a one-time capital payment, whereas under the occupational disease scheme, they receive an annual pension.

The Asbestos Fund is financed by:

• the State

• contributions from employers

• social security contributions from self-employed workers

• donations and bequests

The Asbestos Fund was established in 2007 within the Fund for Occupational Diseases (now Fedris). The idea of creating a specific fund for asbestos emerged in the early 2000s within a think tank on asbestos-related diseases. Initially, the focus was mainly on better mapping pleural cancer, as there was no official mesothelioma registry in Belgium at the time.

Over the years, more unexpected cases of so-called “para-professional” mesothelioma emerged among people living near companies that produced or processed asbestos, as well as among the wives and children of employees of these companies. These cases of environmental exposure were not reflected in the statistics or compensation of the Fund for Occupational Diseases. On top of that, public pressure continued to increase.

Evolution of the Asbestos Fund

• 2007: Establishment of the Asbestos Fund (compensation for mesothelioma, asbestosis, and bilateral diffuse pleural thickening)

• 2014: Reimbursement of healthcare costs and support for assistance from another person

• 2017: The Asbestos Fund also takes on a preventive role

• 2019: The fund compensates lung cancer and laryngeal cancer caused by asbestos and guides asbestos victims

• 2022: The fund also compensates ovarian cancer caused by asbestos

The Asbestos Fund was established by the Program Law of 27 December 2006.

You can download the legislation regarding the Asbestos Fund here:

• Program Law (I) of 27 December 2006, Articles 113 to 133 (Belgian Official Gazette 28/12/06) – amended by the law of 11/05/07 (Belgian Official Gazette 26/06/07)

• Royal Decree of 11 May 2007 concerning the implementation of Chapter VI of Title IV of the Program Law (I) of 27 December 2006 for the establishment of a Fund for compensation of asbestos victims

• Royal Decree of 28 March 1969 establishing the list of occupational diseases that give rise to compensation and the criteria to which exposure to occupational risk for some of these diseases must comply (Belgian Official Gazette 04/04/1969)

• Law of 5 May 2019 to improve compensation for asbestos victims