Kapelle-op-den-Bos

Documentary maker Daniël Lambo, who comes from Kapelle-op-den-bosch, brought a concealed disaster back into the spotlight with his documentary "Breathless". This disaster took place and still takes place in this village. The village owes its prosperity to the Eternit company. That factory produced asbestos at the time. Asbestos is a natural product. It is a mineral that is mined in South America, Russia and Canada, among other places. It was processed here in Kapelle-op-den-bosch by Eternit. Eternit is headed by the Emsens family. "They are the fourth richest family in the country." Asbestos emerged as a super product that is fireproof. But it soon became clear in the 1960s that asbestos causes deadly diseases. And every year a lot of people die because of it. "At the moment, there are twice as many asbestos-related illnesses than there are people who die from car accidents. And that's just an estimate. It is possible that you will only get sick after 40 years. The peak of deaths is expected around 2030." "One asbestos fibre can kill you. Now you get people who get sick by drilling a hole in the wall." "But it's not like you're guaranteed to get sick. It's a bit like Russian roulette: one gets it from one fibre, the other from twenty years of factory." There is evidence that the company's leaders at the time certainly knew the danger. But the massive profits on the product caused people to ignore it for a long time for their staff, for themselves and for the outside world. The director at the time and the company doctor, who were given the floor in the documentary and claimed that asbestos was a harmless product, were both addicted to asbestos. The Royal Decree of 23 October 2001 prohibited the manufacture, use and marketing of products containing asbestos.

Dromos