"No danger"

State has no problem with Pernegg asbestos landfill site

Eine malerische Kulisse mit Frauenkirche und Schloss Pernegg - wenn nicht die asbesthaltige Deponie unter der Wiese wäre.

(Bild: Pail Sepp)

The authorities do not consider the asbestos landfill site in Pernegg to pose a risk to people or the environment. However, Asfinag must improve its remediation concept.

The next round in the Pernegg asbestos scandal: following the abuses uncovered by the "Krone" newspaper concerning a now closed landfill site where thousands of tons of excavated material containing asbestos were stored, the FPÖ took aim at the responsible environmental councillor Ursula Lackner (SPÖ). In a written question, the Freedom Party demanded clarification in a 34-point list of questions - the answers are now on the table and available to us.

The answer to the written question clearly shows that the authority handled the procedures properly and that there was and is no danger to the population.

Ursula Lackner

Department 13 makes it clear, for example, that Asfinag has been legally established as the landfill operator. A fact that was always denied by the highway operator at the beginning of the "Krone" investigations. The authority also states that it was already known during the approval of the landfill in 2007 and the amendment approval in 2009 that the construction of the Kirchdorf tunnel could result in asbestos-containing rock.

Landfill apparently not a problem
The fact that the material was deposited in an unsuitable excavated soil landfill is apparently still not seen as a problem. During the waste law inspection in 2018, materials with an increased heavy metal and asbestos fiber content were also found, "but no threat to public interests, provided that the recultivation layer of the landfill is not violated," the authority states.

What happens now in Pernegg? According to the provincial administrative court, Asfinag had to submit a remediation concept by April 30 - which it did, but it was apparently inadequate and still needs to be supplemented. In any case, Department 13 firmly states that there is no evidence of misconduct in the administrative procedure or doubts that it was not carried out properly.