State of emergency declared

Hungary: Scandal over asbestos-contaminated gravel from Austria

The contaminated material is believed to have come from the quarry in Pilgersdorf.(Bild: Christoph Miehl)

According to Hungarian media reports, the asbestos scandal continues to spread. András Nemény, mayor of Szombathely, said that there are fears that more and more municipalities in western Hungary could be affected by contaminated gravel from Burgenland. In addition to Szombathely, about 30 other towns are said to have used the gravel in residential developments and road construction.

According to experts, this may be the largest asbestos contamination in Hungary, reported the online portal kontroll.hu. A public health emergency has been declared in Szombathely due to extremely high asbestos concentrations in a residential area. A twelve-kilometer stretch of road is reportedly affected by the asbestos contamination. This section is being constantly watered to prevent the formation of harmful dust, which releases carcinogenic fibers into the air.

The contaminated material is believed to have come from the quarry in Pilgersdorf.(Bild: Christoph Miehl)

Nemény filed a complaint against persons unknown and emphasized that the general public had also purchased this material, as the accompanying certificates attested to its asbestos-free status.

Hungarian media are referring to an “unprecedented asbestos scandal in Szombathely,” as reported by the news portal index.hu:

According to Greenpeace Austria, Hungarian measurements revealed extremely high levels of asbestos in the air, with readings ranging from 35,000 to 292,000 fibers per cubic meter of air, whereas the task force in Burgenland recommends a maximum limit of 1,000 fibers per cubic meter.

Greenpeace Calls for Crisis Task Force
Greenpeace is now holding the Austrian federal government accountable and, in a press release, is calling for the establishment of a crisis task force. “This must consist of representatives from the various ministries, the affected federal states, as well as recognized, independent experts, with the involvement of civil society from Austria and Hungary. The scandal has now definitively reached a scale that far exceeds the capacities of the Burgenland state government and the local task force.”

Pilgersdorf Quarry Rejects Allegations
Greenpeace had accused the Burgenland state government of total failure. The plant manager of the affected Pilgersdorf quarry, Frank Eichhorn, had rejected the accusation and described the measurements as “unscientific.” Eichhorn further emphasized that there is no limit value in Austria for asbestos concentration in rock, according to the online portal infostart.hu.

Criticism of measurement methods
According to István Orbán, Director General of the Government Office of the Hungarian Vas County, the contaminated material originated from the Pilgersdorf quarry, although the quarries in Glashütten near Schlaining, Bernstein, and Badersdorf were also linked to the incident. These companies were shut down by authorities in January due to asbestos contamination. They all rejected allegations of contamination, arguing that the measurement methods used by the Austrian state authorities and Greenpeace were inadequate.

In the meantime, a Hungarian government resolution has been issued. It calls on the relevant ministries to assess the extent of the contamination, examine measures to mitigate health and environmental damage, and address the issue of identifying those responsible.