A third of companies that check asbestos removal fail to carry out proper inspections, putting inhabitants and builders at risk of cancer, the labour inspectorate has said in a report.

“We are finding locations on an almost weekly basis where asbestos is still present despite claims it has been completely removed, “ asbestos project leader André Dompling told broadcaster NOS.

Asbestos removal companies carry out some 80,000 removals each year. After every job, a final control is carried out by a specialised company.

“They are being paid by the removal companies for their work,” Dompling said. “They have an interest in carrying out checks at as many locations as they can, often resulting in shoddy work.”

The inspectorate also said some end reports are being made based on the removal company’s photos without a final check, which is an “environmental crime”. Some asbestos removal companies are complicit, Dompling said, because by choosing a company that doesn’t abide by the rules they can do the same, and so save money.

Inspectors want the ministries involved to set up an independent organisation which will oversee the final checks.

Asbestos was widely used in building work until 1993. If broken up, small particles can cause lung cancer and peritoneal cancer some 30 to 40 years after being inhaled. In the Netherlands, between 900 and 1,300 people a year died from asbestos-related cancers.