A European initiative
With the RD of 19 December 2025, Belgium transposed Directive (EU) 2023/2668 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work. Although the RD was only published on 30 December 2025, it entered into force retroactively on 22 December. This was done to meet the European implementation deadline of 21 December 2025.
To support these new regulations, the European Commission has also published additional guidelines: Guidelines for managing asbestos related health and safety risks at work.
What has changed?
The RD amends various provisions of Book VI of the Code on Well-being at Work. The most important changes are:
- The professional exposure limit for asbestos is considerably lowered in steps, and a new, more efficient measuring technique is introduced.
- The obligations regarding the asbestos inventory are made more stringent.
- The training and accreditation requirements are increased further.
- Focus is placed on administrative simplification by making available certain templates and forms on the website of the FPS Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue.
- A new chapter titled ‘Adaptation to the state of the art’ is added, so that new methods can be introduced faster when these offer better or equivalent protection of employees.
Drawing up, updating and expansion of the asbestos inventory
For most businesses, the new obligations relating to the asbestos inventory will be most noticeable. Since the entry into force of the RD, every employer has to have an asbestos inventory in which all asbestos present and all materials containing asbestos must be accurately included.
What is new is that this inventory has to be updated annually by means of a visual assessment of the state of the asbestos-containing material. In addition, an update is required after every event that may change the state of the material, or on discovery of asbestos-containing materials that had not yet been included in the inventory.
Furthermore, prior to the start of works that may lead to asbestos exposure, the inventory must be expanded with data on the presence of asbestos in hard-to-reach parts of buildings, machinery and equipment.
The asbestos inventory must be drawn up and expanded by an accredited asbestos expert. For the annual update, this requirement does not apply. There are stricter requirements on who qualifies as an expert. However, an internal inventory remains possible, on condition that the person responsible falls into one of the legal categories.
The inventory must be drawn up according to the template of the FPS Employment. Any existing inventories drawn up before the entry into force of the new rules remain valid.
Furthermore, a pragmatic approach is adopted. For buildings built after 2001, a correct indication of the year of construction normally suffices to demonstrate that no asbestos-containing materials were used. If no work equipment or objects suspicious of containing asbestos are present, no further action is required.
Priority for removal
The new regulations clearly state that the removal of asbestos-containing materials has priority. Since the entry into force of the new regulations, other measures, such as sealing or encapsulation, are only permitted under strict conditions:
- the measures must be temporary;
- a risk analysis must demonstrate that the measures are safer; and
- the measures must not make later removal more difficult.
The Directorate-General for Supervision of Well-being at Work has already said it will take into account a transition period, during which inspectors will provide guidance rather than impose sanctions. Nevertheless, it is advisable to act proactively and draw up and/or update an asbestos inventory.
