Sweden's Asbestos Training Certificates Lack Independent Checks, Audit Warns

Sweden's system for certifying workers who handle asbestos does not independently verify that trainees can perform the work safely, according to a state audit released on 3 November. The finding raises questions about a safety-control system used for renovation and demolition work in buildings that still contain the hazardous material.

The Swedish National Audit Office's report RiR 2026:27 says training providers administer and assess their own knowledge tests. Sweden's Work Environment Authority generally checks whether workers hold valid certificates when considering asbestos-work permits, rather than independently establishing what those workers know. The auditors say quality varies and the certificates do not guarantee competence.

The audit also identifies uneven inspections, outdated guidance and weaknesses in the information systems used to target the highest-risk worksites. Its finding is about the reliability of oversight, not a determination that every certificate is invalid or that every asbestos contractor works unsafely.

Asbestos was banned in Sweden in 1982 but remains present in older buildings. Workers can encounter it during refurbishment, removal and demolition. Swedish property-sector publication Fastighetstidningen reported on 3 November that more than 25,300 notifications of work involving asbestos-containing material were filed in 2024. Notifications are not a count of injuries, breaches or unqualified workers.

The audit describes a fragmented inspection system. Inspectors' methods and assessments can vary by region, and the authority's asbestos inspection guidance had not been updated since 2012. The audit says nine out of ten asbestos inspectors surveyed reported that information and knowledge were not shared effectively between parts of the organisation. In 2025, the authority issued nine immediate prohibitions and decided on administrative penalties in 29 asbestos-related cases, according to figures reproduced in the report. Those enforcement totals do not measure all unsafe work.

The auditors also faulted the government's timing. Longstanding concerns about asbestos training and identifying asbestos in buildings had not prompted a comprehensive response before a December 2025 assignment to the Work Environment Authority to propose improvements. The agency delivered its proposals in October 2026, the audit says. The authority has also developed new supporting materials, and the construction sector has pursued a voluntary certification model with independent testing. These steps matter but are not proof that the national deficiencies have been resolved.

The audit recommends stronger oversight of training, clearer inspection rules, better risk-based data systems and consideration of asbestos inventories in buildings erected before the ban. It also recommends exploring whether information from other authorities can be combined to improve targeting.

Sweden's parliamentary register records receipt of the audit on 3 November and its announcement to the chamber on 4 November, with a response deadline of 3 March 2027. The immediate accountability question is which recommendations the government and the Work Environment Authority will implement, and when. No new statutory certification requirement is established by the audit alone.