Greenpeace Reveals

Vienna in Asbestos Shock: Cancer-Causing Toxin in Road Pavement

One of several sites in Vienna: the intersection of Bertegasse and Wastlgasse(Bild: Greenpeace)

Greenpeace is sounding the alarm. The environmental organization has discovered asbestos in the asphalt on eight streets in Vienna and the surrounding area—including on heavily trafficked main roads. 

Vienna has a toxic problem under its wheels. Greenpeace has discovered asphalt contaminated with asbestos on eight streets in Vienna and the surrounding area of Lower Austria. Six of the streets are in Vienna; two of them are not quiet side streets but heavily trafficked main roads: Rosenhügelstraße and Triesterstraße. On a roughly 1,000-meter-long section of Rosenhügelstraße, the roadway consists entirely of asbestos-contaminated asphalt in some sections.

One of the most dangerous types of asbestos
At two locations—Rosenhügelstraße and Stieglergasse—Greenpeace scraped suspicious small pieces from the pavement and sent them to an accredited laboratory. The results are alarming: Both samples contained nearly pure amphibole asbestos, one of the most dangerous and highly carcinogenic types of asbestos. Under an electron microscope, the mineral appears as a cluster of extremely fine, sharp fibers.

That is precisely where the danger lies. The asbestos particles in the asphalt are as soft as soapstone. A simple press with a ballpoint pen is enough to make them crumble. With every form of stress—heavy traffic, snowplows, studded tires—the fibers break into even smaller pieces, are stirred up into the air where they become invisible, and end up in the air we breathe. A single milligram of pure asbestos can produce up to ten million fibers.

Greenpeace has taken samples at several locations(Bild: Greenpeace)

A ballpoint pen is enough to cause disintegration
“For months, concerned citizens have been contacting us with reports of asbestos-contaminated streets, driveways, and playgrounds. Now Vienna is also affected, as we have discovered asbestos-contaminated asphalt in densely populated areas and even on heavily trafficked roads. Yet the government is still doing nothing,” says Stefan Stadler, spokesperson for the Greenpeace investigative team.

The scandal originated in Burgenland: For decades, four serpentinite quarries there sold asbestos-contaminated rock to asphalt mixing plants in the eastern region—about 900,000 metric tons per year. It wasn’t until the turn of the year that the quarries were shut down due to an “imminent danger.” In the meantime, the scandal has spread to Styria, Lower Austria, and Hungary.

City of Vienna Initiates Additional Inspections
Meanwhile, the City of Vienna is responding swiftly: As soon as the cases in Burgenland came to light, the responsible department, MA 28, introduced a new procedure. For every road construction project involving road excavation, the existing road surface will be tested for asbestos in advance; in addition, the city has commissioned extensive laboratory tests at an accredited testing facility. “The City of Vienna is, of course, taking the reports from Greenpeace regarding possible asbestos contamination on roads seriously and examining them carefully; all reports are being investigated,” states Wolfgang Ablinger, deputy head of MA 28.

Interactive Online Map
Greenpeace has now set up an interactive online map where people can report suspicious locations. More than 300 reports have already been received, and asbestos has since been confirmed at over 65 sites.
“They are being left in the lurch when it comes to asbestos disposal and funding for remediation,” criticizes Stadler, calling on Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker to provide money from the disaster relief fund for those affected, as well as an affordable disposal solution for the contaminated asbestos gravel.