The extent and severity of asbestos-related diseases are the basis of the creation in Belgium on 1 April 2007, the Fund Asbest Asbestos (AFA). The fund compensates victims, not as a professional business.
A new association, the ABEVA, has managed to put on the political agenda the idea of compensation for all victims of asbestos. The social partners have been open to the idea of a new remedy, but reluctant to see leave their traditional scope. The talks touched on several sensitive issues: the diseases of asbestos outside the workplace, environmental contamination, the challenge to the immunity of employers, compensation for self-financing, etc..
Accept the principle of a fund specific asbestos is to accept a differentiation based on the particular history of asbestos mining. In the eyes of victims, severity of health damage and neglect or the lies that punctuate the story warranted a specific repair.
The AFA is a clear improvement for all asbestos victims, even if it does not respond to the start of a claim full compensation.