When asbestos turns up in public space
Since the 1990 use ban, asbestos in Austria counts as a legacy burden, not a closed chapter: it remains in existing buildings and, as the recent cases in Burgenland and Vienna show, in installed gravel and asphalt on roads, car parks and open spaces. For municipalities that means a double responsibility: for your own properties and for the public space in which people move.
We support municipalities through exactly these cases: as the independent technical authority that surveys, samples, measures, supervises the remediation and clears it, without remediating ourselves and without an in-house lab. What you take away is not just a finding, but a documented basis that holds up before the council, the authorities and the public.
What a municipality really needs in such a case
In a suspected case, what counts first is not the remediation but a basis that holds. Three things decide it. First, a fast, honest read on whether there is a problem at all, without drama and without downplaying. Second, a finding that holds: independently taken, cleanly documented and defensible before the council, the supervisory authority and the public. And third, understandable knowledge for residents, before rumours fill the gap.
Our work is aimed at exactly these three points. We gloss over nothing, we do not sell remediation, and we run no laboratory. What you get is a neutral finding and an honest assessment you can base your decisions on.
The first steps when asbestos is suspected
When suspected asbestos material turns up on a public surface or in a building, the approach in the first hours decides a great deal. This order has proven itself:
- Secure it, do not raise dust. Cordon off or mark the area as a precaution. Do not sweep, do not clean with a leaf-blower, avoid driving over it when dry. The danger comes from fibres in the air, that is, from raised dust.
- Document. Record the find location, material and circumstances, ideally with a photo and a site sketch.
- Sample properly. Only laboratory analysis gives a reliable statement. We take the sample by the standard, for asphalt with dust-reduced core drilling, and have it analysed at an accredited testing laboratory (to ISO/IEC 17025).
- Decide only on the basis of the finding. Whether and which measures are needed follows the actual result, not the first impression.
Asbestos-containing material is hazardous waste under the waste catalogue ordinance; handling, transport and disposal follow fixed rules. For the actual remediation, Austria requires an employer authorised under § 26 Grenzwerteverordnung (statutory term: ermächtigte Arbeitgeberin bzw. Arbeitgeber). We help you set the case up cleanly from the start. More background: the Burgenland page and the find-location map.
What we do for municipalities
Surveys and pollutant reports
On-site recording of suspected asbestos components in municipal buildings, as a basis for remediation or demolition planning, tender and works contract. We cover asbestos in all typical components (fibre cement, floor coverings, floor adhesives, sprayed coatings, fire protection, joint sealants) and deliver a structured report with a material list, lab results, risk assessment and recommended disposal routes.
Sampling of gravel roads and open spaces
Proper sampling at suspected spots in public space, that is, on gravel roads, car parks, playgrounds and schoolyards, and analysis at the accredited partner lab. You receive a report with a sampling plan, lab result, method documentation and a clear risk assessment, archivable for the municipal file.
Asphalt sampling with dust-reduced core drilling
Bound asphalt cannot be sampled like loose gravel. We take the sample with dust-reduced core drilling: a targeted drill core instead of breaking up the surface, with dust suppression (wet or with extraction), so that the sampling itself releases as few fibres as possible. That gives you a reliable statement about the asphalt structure, as the Vienna find made relevant, without endangering the surface. Analysis at the accredited partner lab.
Real-time air monitoring
Our own sensors for continuous monitoring of air quality during the remediation works (particulate matter and further parameters). Problems are identified immediately, not days later in the lab. This is especially relevant in inhabited or used surroundings (residential estates, schools, inner courtyards).
Independent site supervision
During the ongoing remediation we are the municipality's eyes and check whether the executing firm implements the protective measures correctly. For work in buildings and interiors these are the containment measures (clean/dirty separation, airlocks, negative pressure, protective equipment); for outdoor work on gravel and asphalt they are low-dust, wetted extraction, a secured work area, dust-tight transport and the disposal documentation under ÖNORM B 3151 and the waste catalogue ordinance. We document deviations and escalate them to you. This documented separation of execution and control is often the decisive point for public bodies.
Clearance measurement and release
How a remediation is concluded depends on the location. Indoors: clearance measurement, i.e. measurement of the fibre concentration in the room air of the remediated area by the sampling and evaluation logic of VDI 3492, with a documented release recommendation. Without a documented clearance measurement, the re-use of interior spaces is not legally secured. Outdoors, on gravel and asphalt: control sampling of the cleared surface and subgrade as proof that the contaminated layer has been fully removed, accompanied by real-time air monitoring at the edge of the work area.
Info-evenings: knowledge for residents
The best remedy against rumour is understandable knowledge. An info-evening is a scientifically grounded but plainly told lecture on asbestos in construction and the environment: what asbestos is, where it occurs in everyday life, when it becomes dangerous and when not, and what a lab finding actually means. It is not a sales event but knowledge transfer; that is exactly why the evening is paid and not meant as acquisition in disguise. A municipality can book such an evening for the council or for the general public; we tailor content and scope to the occasion.
| Info-evening | Price |
|---|---|
| for the council | €290 |
| public, up to 100 people | €490 |
| up to 250 people | €890 |
| up to 1000 people | €1,290 |
| over 1000 people | by request |
The Burgenland case, and what it means for every municipality
In Burgenland, asbestos-bearing diabase gravel was installed over three decades on roads, paths and properties; a number of find locations are currently being worked through. We keep the status, the verified facts and the open questions up to date on the Burgenland page.
But this is not a Burgenland-only matter; it is a question of the installed material. In Vienna and its surroundings, asbestos-bearing road asphalt has been detected; where the gravel there came from is not established. Wherever regional gravel or recycled construction material was installed, asbestos-bearing rock may be in it. Which places are documented so far is shown on the find-location map.
For a municipality the lesson is simple: a calm, independent clarification up front is cheaper and less burdensome than working through it once a suspicion becomes public. Whoever checks early and cleanly acts from a defensible position.
Costs, funding and liability: an honest signpost
The cost question is real for municipalities. We help place it realistically and point you to the responsible bodies for funding and cost matters (contaminated-site and provincial funding schemes, depending on the case). We do not obtain funding and give no legally binding advice. Two experience values that reliably hold: early clarification by measurement is almost always markedly cheaper than cleaning up after an incident. And a documented, independent finding protects you not only in health terms, but also in the later dispute over responsibility and costs.
About us
Responsibility and structure
| Client Austria | Ungiftig FlexCo · Talgasse 43, 2620 Neunkirchen, Lower Austria |
| Management | Dr. Maximilian Mandl |
| Scientific direction | Dr. Maximilian Mandl, geochemist (ETH Zurich) |
Laboratory independence
We run no laboratory of our own and hold no stake in any laboratory or remediation firm. For each assignment we select the most suitable accredited partner lab under ISO/IEC 17025, documented transparently in the report on request. That ensures our findings and clearances follow the facts and not an internal capacity or sales interest.
Legal framework
Our work follows the applicable Austrian asbestos law (Grenzwerteverordnung (GKV) in its current version, ÖNORM B 3151, the waste catalogue ordinance/SN 31437g, ASchG) as well as the EU asbestos directive 2009/148/EC and the EU directive 2023/2668 applying in stages from 2025/2026. For the work procedures we add the German TRGS 519, drawn upon in Austria as the state of the art.
Availability
On-site visits with no travel charge in Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria and Burgenland. Other regions by arrangement. For municipalities with ongoing need, framework agreements with fixed response times are possible.
You are a construction or remediation business? For the private-sector construction and remediation context there is a dedicated page: Asbestos compliance for businesses.
Common questions from the municipal context
Secure the area as a precaution and avoid raising dust (no sweeping, no leaf-blowing, no driving over it when dry), document the suspicion, take a sample properly and have it analysed at an accredited lab, and decide on measures only on the basis of the finding. We handle the sampling and the assessment and tell you honestly whether there is any need to act at all. Asbestos-containing material is hazardous waste under the Austrian waste catalogue ordinance; its handling and disposal follow fixed rules.
With dust-reduced core drilling. Instead of breaking up the surface, we take a targeted drill core; the drilling is done with dust suppression (wet or with extraction), so that the sampling itself releases as few fibres as possible. That gives you a reliable statement about the bound asphalt, as it became relevant in the Vienna case, without endangering the surface. The core goes to the accredited partner lab.
We are the independent technical authority: site survey, sampling of gravel and asphalt, accredited analysis, real-time air monitoring, supervision of the executing remediation firm, and clearance measurement after the remediation. We do not remediate ourselves and run no laboratory. The actual remediation is carried out by an authorised employer (the statutory term is ermächtigte Arbeitgeberin bzw. Arbeitgeber, § 26 Grenzwerteverordnung, a precondition for demolition and asbestos-remediation work); we are the municipality's eyes, checking that the work is done correctly.
Because the executing firm is at the same time the firm whose work is being checked. An independent site supervision continuously monitors the protective measures (for indoor remediation the clean/dirty separation, airlocks, negative pressure; outdoors low-dust extraction and a secured work area) and the disposal documentation under ÖNORM B 3151 and the waste catalogue ordinance, documents deviations and concludes with a documented release. For a public body, this documented separation of execution and control is often decisive vis-à-vis the council, the supervisory authority and the public.
Yes: info-evenings on asbestos in construction and the environment. This is a scientific lecture for the general public, not a sales event, and therefore deliberately paid: you get well-founded, independent knowledge transfer, not acquisition disguised as a talk. A municipality can book an evening for the council (€290) or for the public (from €490); the rates are in the Info-evenings section. For the specific case communication we additionally provide the technical basis (what was measured, what the value means); the outward communication stays with the municipality.
Yes. The current occasion is often roads and open spaces, but the standing municipal duty equally concerns schools, kindergartens, administrative buildings, works yards and fibre-cement roofs from the period before the 1990 use ban. Before remediation or demolition we survey, sample under accreditation and provide a basis for tender and works contract.
We help you place the cost question realistically, and point you to the responsible bodies for funding and cost matters (for example contaminated-site and provincial funding schemes, depending on the case). We do not obtain funding and give no legal advice. Experience shows that early clarification by measurement is markedly cheaper than cleaning up after an incident. The initial consultation is free.
Sampling typically within a few days, prioritised in the acute case. We clarify availability and response time in the initial consultation; for municipalities with ongoing need, framework agreements with fixed response times are possible. On-site visits with no travel charge in Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Styria and Burgenland.