Asbestos decontamination in Hungary to cost HUF 20bn-25bn

Many residential buildings in Hungary still contain 150,000 - 200,000 square meters of sprayed asbestos threatening the health of approximately 30,000 people.

The association is initiating a campaign for decontamination by starting with the registration of all the people involved in the issue and urging authorities to create appropriate working environment for the decontamination process.

According to chairman of the association Gábor Borsody, it is essential to educate people about the appropriate behavior in flats being threatened by the presence of asbestos. He also noted that the European Parliament adopted a resolution in March 2013 on asbestos-related health threats, calling for the eradication of all asbestos until 2023.

From the beginnings of 1970s, sprayed asbestos was used for fire protection of buildings. Approximately 400,000-450,000 square meters of asbestos was used during the construction of buildings and almost half of it was used, and can be still found, at residential buildings.  Inhalation of the chemical has serious consequences, following the latency of 10-40 years, like lung or laryngeal cancer.