Is asbestos banned in Namibia?

Namibia has no confirmed asbestos ban. Asbestos-cement was listed as standard roofing in 1969 regulations and remains in many older buildings. Assess your building risk.

SENTINEL ARCHIVE / CASE #122

Namibia

No national asbestos ban confirmed. Namibia has Asbestos Regulations under the Labour Act (Government Notice 156 of 1997, Schedule 2) that address occupational exposure, but their specific provisions could not be verified from public digital sources. Not on the IBAS ban list. The 1969 Windhoek Building Regulations listed asbestos-cement sheets as standard roofing material. Namibia's primary asbestos exposure came through imported South African building materials and through Namibian migrant workers employed in South African Northern Cape crocidolite mines (Prieska–Kuruman belt). These workers' disease experiences were systematically excluded from South African health statistics. A 2024 Draft OSH Bill proposes modernizing the occupational health framework but does not appear to include an asbestos ban.

—Unknown

—

No ban in place

—

Mesothelioma Rate

Unquantified. Buildings…

Buildings at Risk

1950s–1980s

Peak Usage Era

Regulatory Timeline

Detailed regulatory history coming soon.

Detailed information for this country is being compiled. Check back soon.

—Ban Year

Regulatory status is unclear. Exercise caution with all buildings, especially those built before 2000.

Buildings at Risk

Estimated scope of asbestos-containing materials still present in the built environment.

Unquantified. Buildings constructed during South African administration (1950s–1980s) in Windhoek, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, and other urban centers used imported asbestos-cement roofing. The 1969 Windhoek Building Regulations listed asbestos-cement sheets as standard 'light roof construction' material. No national building inventory exists.

1950s–1980sPeak Usage Era

The period when asbestos was most heavily used in construction. Buildings from this era have the highest probability of containing asbestos materials.