Aragón creates the team that will certify asbestos-related pathologies

The Department of Health of the Government of Aragon has created the Asbestos Victims Assessment Team of the autonomous community, the body that will rule on pathologies derived from exposure to this material and open the way to state economic compensation. The measure is formalized by Order SAN/1440/2026, of September 24, published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 197, of October 9, 2026, in section I of General Provisions (official reference BOA20261009001). The regulation comes into force the day following its publication.

The order responds to the mandate of article 6 of Royal Decree 483/2025, of June 17, which establishes the requirements and the procedure to recognize the right to economic compensation for asbestos victims, in development of Law 21/2022, of October 19, which created the state compensation fund. That law entrusts assessment teams with the diagnosis and assessment of the disease, its classification and review, as well as the determination of its cause or the cause of death. The Interterritorial Council of the National Health System, at the proposal of the Public Health Commission, approved in the session of November 12, 2025, the procedure for the issuance of the certificate of pathologies derived from asbestos exposure.

The regulation is approved at the initiative of the Health Councilor, following a report from the Technical General Secretariat and the General Directorate of Legal Services, and places the new body within the regional department with competence in health.

A collegiate body with four health professionals

The Assessment Team is composed of four members, all of them health personnel, and will be appointed by the head of the Department of Health:

• A health professional from the Prevention and Public Health Programs Service of the general directorate with competence in public health, who will serve as the chair.
• A health professional from the Occupational Health Section of the same service, as a member.
• A health professional from the Environmental Health Section of the Food Safety and Environmental Health Service of the General Directorate of Public Health, as a member.
• A professional from Medical Inspection of the Health Service of the General Directorate of Healthcare Assistance and Planning, as a member.

Additionally, a person with legal competencies from the department is incorporated, who will serve as the secretary and attend meetings with a voice but without a vote. When the chair deems it necessary, professionals of recognized qualification, such as technical personnel from the Aragonese Institute of Occupational Health and Safety or specialists in pulmonology, may also be consulted, with a voice but without a vote.

From the ruling to the certificate: how to apply

The primary task of the team is to prepare the report that will serve as the basis for the General Directorate of Public Health, the competent regional body, to issue the certificate accrediting pathologies derived from asbestos exposure, in accordance with Annex II of Royal Decree 483/2025. The team will carry out the diagnosis and assessment of the disease, its classification and review, and the determination of its cause or the cause of death of the affected persons.

Interested parties shall submit the application preferably electronically via the electronic Registry of the department with competence in health, through the forms of the electronic Office of the Government of Aragon, or in person at any of the community’s registration offices. The application must be accompanied by the documentation indicated in Article 7 of Royal Decree 483/2025.

The Administration will verify the identity of the interested person ex officio by consulting official databases, without requiring the submission of the national identity document, unless there is express opposition. If the application does not meet the requirements, its correction will be requested within ten days, with a warning of withdrawal; if documentation is missing, the same ten-day period will be granted, with notice of the forfeiture of the right.

Operation, confidentiality, and entry into force

The team shall be governed by this order and, for matters not provided for, by the rules on collegiate bodies of Law 40/2015, of October 1, and Law 5/2021, of June 29, on the organization and legal regime of the Aragonese regional public sector. It shall meet when convened by its presidency, on its own initiative or at the request of any of its members, and the secretariat shall guarantee the minutes, the custody of documentation, and technical and administrative support.

An additional provision obliges the team to guarantee the confidentiality of all information it accesses, in compliance with Organic Law 3/2018, of December 5, on data protection, and Law 41/2002, of November 14, regulating patient autonomy. The order was signed in Zaragoza on September 24, 2026, by the Minister of Health, Ángel Sanz Barea.

The creation of this body is the missing piece in Aragon so that people exposed to asbestos in the occupational, domestic, or environmental spheres can accredit their pathology and claim the economic compensation provided for in the state fund. From now on, affected workers and families have a specific administrative channel, with defined deadlines and a team specialized in public, occupational, and environmental health in charge of validating each case.

Source: Official Gazette of Aragon, number 197, of October 9, 2026, section I. General Provisions (official reference: BOA20261009001).