Szombathely mayor calls emergency assembly for asbestos remediation

The Mayor of Szombathely, András Nemény, has called an extraordinary municipal assembly for Monday to address the city's asbestos situation. The decision follows a public forum held at the city hall regarding the management of asbestos-contaminated materials.

A primary concern is the Oladi plateau area, which contains between 80,000 and 100,000 tons of asbestos-laden stone. While the government considers the complete removal of the material to be the only permanent solution, the city aims to implement a temporary bitumen covering as soon as possible to mitigate risks.

Mayor Nemény noted that weather conditions, specifically temperature and rainfall, must be considered for the construction work to proceed. The city plans to use a multi-layered approach involving bitumen, a geogrid, and geotextile, with a 15-centimeter gravel layer along the road edges. Funding for these remediation efforts in Szombathely and the wider West Transdanubia region is expected to be provided by a government-established asbestos fund. Contractors could potentially begin work as early as next week, with an estimated completion time of 1.5 to 2 months.