Stefan Kempeneers studied chemistry and has been working at the intermunicipal organisation Interleuven in Belgium for 14 years. His primary focus has been on climate and energy projects. He first encountered the topic of asbestos through a remote sensing project.
To estimate the number of roofs suspected of containing asbestos in the Leuven district, Interleuven is creating an expectation map. This map highlights roofs that are suspected of containing asbestos using high-resolution aerial photographs and artificial intelligence, which are colored in red. Subsequently, the owners of these roofs are contacted and encouraged to remediate them if asbestos is suspected. Additionally, a dashboard has been developed to provide an overview of the number of roofs suspected of containing asbestos, along with estimates of their surface areas. Two years after the initial map is created, a new map is generated to monitor progress in reducing asbestos exposure.