Urgent asbestos removal is required in half of the Flemish schools that have been tested for it.
Scientific evidence shows long-term direct exposure to asbestos can be linked to deadly diseases, including the terminal cancer mesothelioma.
In 53% of the school buildings inspected in Flanders, the asbestos present must be removed as a matter of urgency, compared to 27% in an earlier project involving 300 schools.
The data from a new analysis of figures by the waste management company OVAM was shared by Flemish Minister for the Environment Jo Brouns (CD&V) in response to a parliamentary query.
"The situation is more alarming than previously thought," Flemish Member of Parliament Kim Buyst (Groen), who sent the written question, told VRT NWS. "We are talking about the health of our children and education staff."
Not only is there contamination in the vast majority of school buildings, but the asbestos often needs to be removed as quickly as possible in around 1,350 schools.
More unsafe than other buildings
Only one in five examined schools is asbestos-safe, with either no asbestos or only low-risk asbestos materials present. In other types of buildings, this figure stands at 60%. This means schools are much more unsafe than other buildings when it comes to asbestos contamination.
Buyst fears that the problem is even bigger than the figures show, as since 2018, less than half of primary and secondary schools have had an asbestos test done.
OVAM said it is unclear whether these statistics can be generalised to all schools. It can only make statements about the approximately 2,500 school locations that have been inspected. For the other 3,300 school buildings in Flanders, it is not known exactly whether they are contaminated and to what degree.
The removal of asbestos from Flemish schools is progressing very slowly. In seven years, fewer than seven out of ten schools have moved to request asbestos removal after obtaining a certificate. So far, only 700 schools have been made asbestos-safe with the help of OVAM.
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Brouns attributes the slow pace to the fact that almost all educational buildings undergoing asbestos removal remain in use, leading to phased operations for financial and safety reasons. However, Buyts counteracted this argument, stating Flanders should provide better financial and administrative support to schools to speed up the process.
Minister of Education Zuhal Demir (N-VA) did announce at the start of the year that the Flemish Government will fully reimburse the costs of removing asbestos from schools from now on, up from 60 to 70% of the costs.
