The zł.48 billion asbestos removal problem seems set to drag on for years

According to government plan and EU regulations, all construction materials with asbestos should be removed by 2032. Two years following the launch of the program only 1% of this material was put in special dumps. "We estimate there are some 15.5 million tones of asbestos products in the country, while until the end of 2004 only 160,000 tones were removed," said Stanisław Szałucha from the Economy Ministry. About 84 dumps should be created across the country, but so far only 25 have been established and the costs of storing this toxic material is high. "Owners of dumps demand too high fees and thus the costs of utilization are a serious problem. The removal of one tone of asbestos costs even zł.1,000 in Lublin," said Marian Stanin from the Lublin City Office. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B2) M.M.