Pollutant and asbestos remediation

Asbestos is found in many old buildings and poses an enormous health risk during demolition or dismantling. Professional asbestos and pollutant remediation is essential to protect people and the environment and to ensure safe general renovation. PORR Umwelttechnik has the necessary expertise and guarantees the highest safety standards thanks to its many years of experience in pollutant removal and its experienced skilled staff.

The danger of asbestos lies in the release of respirable fibres, which occurs when the building material is subjected to mechanical impact, such as during demolition, maintenance and renovation work. Without appropriate protective measures, this can lead to a high release of up to 1 million asbestos fibres/m³, whereby a single fibre can cause cancer. Inhaled asbestos fibres cannot be broken down or excreted by the body, leading to inflammation and serious illness.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral that was often used in construction in the past due to its various positive technical properties – high tensile strength, heat resistance, chemical resistance and insulating capacity – as well as its low cost. Its uses ranged from the manufacture of roofing, facade and insulation panels to floor coverings and seals, as well as as an additive in cement, paints, fillers, joint compounds and adhesives to improve consistency and adhesion. This means that some building materials can only be declared as containing asbestos by visual inspection, while others require detailed evaluation with a scanning electron microscope.

Between 1950 and 1990, around 870,000 tonnes of asbestos were used in construction in Austria. A large part of this is still being gradually dismantled and remediated today. PORR environmental engineering has set itself the task of reducing this proportion every year. The safety of all those involved as well as the environment is the top priority in every project. Without exception, our specialists are equipped with full-body protective suits, respirators with particle filters, gloves as well as boots. Each rehabilitation project is planned precisely according to local conditions and carried out in sealed-off areas with state-of-the-art filter systems and personnel airlocks, followed by a thorough cleaning. Once the measurements have been checked, the area can be safely entered for further construction work.

In addition to the professional rehabilitation and disposal of asbestos, PORR environmental engineering also decontaminates rooms contaminated with PAHs, PCBs, KMF, lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and many other toxic substances – for private individuals, companies and public authorities throughout Austria.