Construction company faces murder charges due to asbestos
The construction company Eternit, located in the city of Goor near Enschede, is facing criminal charges after the deaths of two of its former employees and the wife of one of them, due to exposure to toxic asbestos dust.
The Public Prosecution Service (Openbare Ministerie) confirmed what the newspapers Telegraaf and Trouw reported that the company, a subsidiary of the Belgian group Etex, is being legally pursued on charges of intentional and unintentional homicide for allowing workers to operate in a hazardous environment without taking preventive measures.
Although the Netherlands banned the production of asbestos in 1993, medical research since the 1960s has proven the link between inhaling fine asbestos particles and certain respiratory diseases and cancers. Six years ago, a committee representing asbestos victims filed a criminal complaint on behalf of the families of six deceased individuals believed to have died due to asbestos exposure.
In 2023, a Belgian court ruled that Eternit must pay 50,000 euros to a man who developed lung cancer (mesothelioma) after growing up near the company's factory in Flanders, where his father worked. The court found that the company continued to produce asbestos cement without taking the slightest preventive measures despite being aware of the health risks.
Sven Brinkhoff, a professor of criminal law at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), stated that charging companies with murder is a rare occurrence, explaining that holding companies accountable for negligence in protecting workers is common, but accusing them of murder implies a suspicion of intentional intent.
Eternit's lawyers pointed out that the company operated within the legal framework during the period of asbestos production, when it was still legal.