Products containing asbestos are still being sold despite it having been illegal to sell them for 26 years. The sale of products containing asbestos was banned in 1998 due to asbestos being carcinogenic. Nevertheless, more than a quarter of a century later it is still easy to find flowerpots, garden seats and even dog kennels made of cement containing asbestos on sale both on websites that sell second-hand goods and in the shops. Despite the health risks, sometimes the price of goods containing asbestos is even higher the price of a safe alternative product.
Garden chairs costing several thousand euro, dog kennels made from cement containing asbestos, costing 800 euro. VRT News found these and other items containing asbestos to be readily available for sale both online and in shops.
These are often vintage products, such as window boxes, plant and flowerpots for in the garden and items of furniture made in the 1950s and 1960s. They are presented attractively as decorative pieces.
Owning goods containing asbestos is allowed, selling them is banned
The law states that you are allowed to own items containing asbestos, provided that they are in good condition. However, you are not allowed to sell them. The Flemish Public Waste Agency OVAM says that the ban on the sale of goods containing asbestos has been in force since 1998. The idea is that by allowing the possession of but banning the sale of goods containing asbestos, such goods will slowly disappear from circulation.
OVAM’s spokesman Jan Verheyen told VRT News that the sales ban also applies to second-hand goods. “Products don't last for ever and over time they start to weather and it is then that asbestos fibres are released”. Even in small quantities, asbestos fibres can cause serious lung diseases, including mesothelioma (lung cancer) and other cancers.
How to recognise asbestos
Asbestos was commonly used in building materials until the 1990s. Corrugated sheets, slates and pipes, but also, for example, vinyl tiles, window boxes, paneling, glue, mastic and sealing cord were made using asbestos.
Building materials made from asbestos cement often have a waffled structure in the form of a honeycomb. There are ways to identify asbestos, but they are not always 100% accurate. If you want to be sure, have a test carried out by a recognised asbestos lab.
Top Swiss design worked with asbestos
Here in Belgium Eternit was a major producers of goods containing asbestos. During the 1950s and 1960s, Eternit employed the renowned Swiss designer Willy Guhl to design decorative items and furniture in asbestos.
Guhl designed several iconic pieces in fibre cement containing asbestos, including the famous ‘Loop Chair.’ He also designed a kennel for Eternit. Guhl’s designs are still considered to be aesthetically valuable today. However, buyers should be aware of the risks.
Ignorance or deliberate disregard
Maarten Vanbuel is the Chair of the Association of Asbestos Removal Companies. He stresses to the need for better enforcement of the sales ban and an awareness campaign on the risks posed by asbestos.
“Many people are unaware of the risks. Some vendors and buyers do not even know that their products contain asbestos. When fibre cement weathers, there is a risk that invisible but dangerous asbestos fibres will be released. Weathering is a risk with garden attributes that are decades old”.
"Yes but that chair is in the design museum"
While visiting several vintage shops in Brussels, VRT News came across flower pots containing asbestos that had been made by Eternit. These items are often sold without any warning of the risks posed by abestos.
Interviews with vendors, both online and in shops, show that they too are often unaware of or simply ignore the danger posed by asbestos. One vendor even said that he "does not care" that the product he is selling contains asbestos.
Another vendor said that an item that he was selling that contains asbestos is identical to a piece that is on display at the Design Museum in Ghent and as such there should not be a problem.
What can consumers do?
Consumers that have products containing asbestos can hold on to them, provided they are in good condition. However, it is important to ensure that the items are not damaged, abraded or tampered with them as this increases the chances fibres being released. Asbestos fibres can also be released when items weather.