88b - Compensation of substance related occupational diseases in the Netherlands

Exposure to hazardous substances at work is estimated to cause more than 3000 deaths per year in the Netherlands. An even larger number of workers develop substance-related occupational diseases (SROD), with serious medical, social and financial consequences. Workers seeking financial compensation for developing an occupational disease are often faced with a long and difficult legal process. To improve this situation, the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment introduced a new regulation in 2023 aimed at compensating substance-related occupational diseases. This regulation offers (ex)workers and (ex)self-employed professionals who have a substance-related occupational disease a one-time financial compensation as a form of recognition. The regulation started with three diseases: lung cancer from asbestos exposure, allergic occupational asthma and chronic solvent-induced encephalopathy. The number of occupational diseases to be included on the list will be extended in the years to come. In this session the specific key elements of the regulation will be presented with in-depth explanations of the diagnostic criteria, the ways (cumulative) exposure is assessed and the determination of the plausibility of the causality between exposure and the disease. In 2023 almost 300 workers applied for a compensation. Each application was reviewed by an independent panel of three specialists: an occupational physician, an occupational hygienist and a medical specialist. The results of the first year of this new regulation will be presented, together with important lessons learned.