Vienna seals first roads after asbestos findings
Thursday 1st October 2026 on 19:30 in
Austria
Vienna has covered sections of two streets where asbestos was found, while the scale and cost of the work remain unclear, ORF reports.
The city’s road administration, MA 28, said areas of Rosenhügelstraße and Anton-Freunschlag-Gasse had been covered with an additional layer of asphalt. The seal is intended to contain asbestos-bearing material and prevent fibres from being released during normal traffic. Work is continuing.
Laboratory tests commissioned by the city in July confirmed asbestos in at least five streets: Rosenhügelstraße, Anton-Freunschlag-Gasse, Bertegasse, Wernergasse and Stieglergasse.
MA 28 deputy head Wolfgang Ablinger said asbestos was well bound in the asphalt and could not normally be released, but the city was taking precautionary steps to protect residents. Greenpeace has warned that fibres could be released whenever vehicles pass over affected sections of busy roads.
The city is also using a thin-layer coating to cover less-trafficked areas without milling, cutting or breaking up the road surface. The method can also avoid adjustments to manhole covers and drainage inlets, particularly on small sections.
MA 28 did not say how many locations had been tested or how many had confirmed asbestos. It said investigations were being expanded and that no final overall count was available. The city had reported about 40 suspected cases in July; Greenpeace’s online map now lists 54 suspected locations in Vienna. MA 28 said these were being checked, but a listed suspicion did not mean asbestos had been confirmed. In several recent cases, tests found no asbestos.
The city has not estimated the total cost of the safety work or identified the quarries from which the material came. It said it had no direct contracts with quarry operators, as its contractors were the construction companies it commissioned. The city is examining whether legal action against contractors from the time is possible. It said no asbestos-containing material is being used in current construction projects.
Residents can still report unusual road surfaces to the city. MA 28 will assess reports and take samples where there is reasonable suspicion. The city cautions that appearance alone cannot reliably show whether a road surface contains asbestos.