Hundreds of Hungarian roads may be contaminated with asbestos

Hundreds of roadworthy surfaces successful the occidental Hungary whitethorn beryllium contaminated with asbestos. One of these areas is the Oladi plateau, a suburban portion of Szombathely that is presently nether construction, which whitethorn person been exposed to contamination for 8 to 10 years, erstwhile stones were transported determination from Austrian mines.

Tamás Weiszburg, a geologist and erstwhile caput of the mineralogy section astatine Eötvös Loránd University, explains to Euronews the dangers asbestos poses to the quality body.

“On its own, it is conscionable a portion of rock; it is the signifier that matters. It is simply a precise good fibre that tin evade the body’s defence mechanisms and tin truthful beryllium a superior carcinogen,” helium says.

“Like a snake, it enters the airflow and tin question down into the bronchi without being expelled. And due to the fact that it is long, it cannot beryllium decently ingested by phagocytes, which tin pb to a imperishable inflammatory state. A imperishable inflammatory authorities tin then, implicit time, make into cancer.”

Tamás Weiszburg says that asbestos is simply a “slow killer”: asbestos-induced tumours tin make decades aft inhalation of the mineral fibres.

If decently sealed, nary harm done

Tamás Weiszburg stresses that the main occupation is that roads built with asbestos-containing aggregates are often neither sealed nor asphalted. In occidental Hungarian counties, hundreds of kilometres of roads airs nary hazard due to the fact that they person been decently sealed.

However, if these roads are ever dismantled for immoderate reason, it volition ever beryllium indispensable to cheque whether the roadworthy basal contains asbestos. If it does, workers indispensable beryllium protected with due protective masks passim the duration of the works, until the tract is decently sealed again.

The lawsuit volition beryllium presented to the authorities connected Monday

Hungarian Environment Minister, László Gajdos visited the Szombathely territory connected Thursday, an country chiefly inhabited by families with young children.

"By reducing the velocity of cars, we person already made a batch of progress, they are little apt to footwear up dust," András Nemény, politician of Szombathely, told the minister. In addition, the country is being perpetually watered.

László Gajdos confirmed that “three counties are affected”, but that the authorities inactive does not cognize “where the stones from Austrian mines, 4 of which person already been closed, were taken”.

“I deliberation this contented should beryllium discussed betwixt ministries and a determination should beryllium taken quickly. I volition truthful taxable the substance to the authorities connected Monday,” the curate said during a property league held connected site.

Lack of preventive regulation

According to geologist Tamás Weiszburg, this contamination whitethorn person occurred owed to a deficiency of cognition and a ineligible gap: determination are presently nary preventive regulations successful Europe concerning earthy asbestos.

“It is imaginable for 1 broadside of the aforesaid excavation to incorporate asbestos portion the different does not. So this is not a lawsuit of deliberate biology damage,” helium explains.

“There is of people a ineligible loophole, and it is worthy looking for those responsible, but it indispensable besides beryllium understood that though it was scientifically and geologically known that immoderate mines contained asbestos, it was neither imaginable nor desirable to prohibition mining successful Austria, simply due to the fact that determination is nary instrumentality governing this,” helium said.

So far, contamination has been identified astatine much than 300 sites, with 3 counties being the astir affected. In Szombathely, arsenic good arsenic successful Sopron and Kőszeg, surfaces person been covered with gravel containing earthy asbestos.