Asbestos cement

Asbestos cement, called azbestocement in Slovak, is a building material in which asbestos fibres are bound in cement. The health risk comes from dust released when the material is broken, cut or worked on. The real question for any owner is therefore whether the planned work will disturb it.

Slovak regulation treats buildings built before 1 January 2005 as buildings that may contain asbestos. The date is the cut-off for the survey duty in Government Regulation 185/2026 Z. z. (§ 8 ods. 1), the date before which the asbestos ban took effect. It is a reason to check, not proof either way.

Why is asbestos treated as a serious health hazard?

Slovak regulation classifies asbestos as a category 1A carcinogen. Government Regulation 185/2026 Z. z. on protecting employees from asbestos exposure lists six fibre types. They include chrysotile and crocidolite (§ 1 ods. 3). It has applied since 15 July 2026 and replaced the older regulation 253/2006 Z. z. (§ 15 and § 16).

The regulation sets a workplace limit of 0.002 fibres per cm3, averaged over an eight-hour shift (§ 2 ods. 4). The limit counts fibres longer than five micrometres and thinner than three micrometres, with a length to width ratio above 3:1. A second limit of 0.01 fibres per cm3 applies to fibres thinner than 0.2 micrometres. The employer must reduce exposure to the lowest possible level, so that the limit is not exceeded (§ 5 ods. 1). The limit is written for employers, but the same dust is the reason a householder should not attempt the work alone.

Can I remove an asbestos cement roof myself?

No. Section 41 ods. 1 of act 355/2007 Z. z. covers removal of asbestos from buildings during demolition, maintenance, repairs and other activities. Only a sole trader or legal person with a permit from the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic (ÚVZ SR) may do it. The ÚVZ information page states that these rules do not allow owners to remove asbestos-containing material themselves.

The waste act adds a second barrier. A natural person may not handle construction waste with asbestos from a simple or small building (§ 12 ods. 6 of act 79/2015 Z. z.). A simple building includes a residential building with at most three flats. Its built-up area is at most 300 m2 and it has at most two above-ground floors (§ 2 ods. 6 of act 25/2025 Z. z.). A typical family house falls into that group.

Which rules apply to asbestos cement work?

Four instruments settle most questions. They are the public health act 355/2007 Z. z., Government Regulation 185/2026 Z. z., the waste act 79/2015 Z. z. and the catalogue decree 365/2015 Z. z. The rules that matter most for an owner are these:

Rule	What it says	Source
Removal permit	Only a permit holder may remove asbestos from buildings, including during demolition, maintenance and repairs	355/2007 § 41 ods. 1
Advance notice	The permit holder must notify the public health authority of each removal in writing at least 30 days before work starts, with documents	355/2007 § 41 ods. 13
Survey before work	In buildings built before 1 January 2005, the employer must identify materials likely to contain asbestos before demolition, maintenance or refurbishment	185/2026 § 8 ods. 1
Ban on new use	Placing asbestos on the market and using products that contain it is prohibited, but removal and disposal are exempt	185/2026 § 4 ods. 1 písm. d) and ods. 2
Waste handling	A natural person may not handle asbestos construction waste from simple or small buildings	79/2015 § 12 ods. 6

The regulation lists what the notice contains. This includes the work plan and proof that the hazardous asbestos waste will be disposed of (§ 3 ods. 1 písm. e) and j)). Some work is irregular and has low exposure, such as removing intact material with firmly bound fibres. For that work the regulation relaxes the employer duties in § 3. The risk assessment must show that the limit will not be exceeded (§ 2 ods. 5). The permit duty in act 355/2007 stays. Ask the firm in writing which notice it files for your job.

The survey duty sits with the employer, but the employer must gather information from the owner first. Old project documents and records of earlier repairs help. Where that information is missing, the employer must have the materials examined before work starts (§ 8 ods. 1). The owner's part is therefore mainly information, timing and choosing a firm that holds the right permit.

Who may remove asbestos cement from a house?

Only a sole trader or legal person holding a permit from ÚVZ SR may do it. ÚVZ SR keeps a list of permit holders. The permit is issued for an indefinite period and cannot pass to a legal successor or to another firm (§ 41 ods. 6 and 11). Three permit types exist, depending on where the work happens (§ 41 ods. 8):

Permit type	Scope
Interior with negative pressure	Work inside buildings in a controlled zone with a negative-pressure system
Exterior	Work outside, where a negative-pressure controlled zone cannot technically be created and the work is not tied to the building interior
Enclosed spaces up to 10 m3	Interior work in enclosed spaces of up to 10 m3, with a controlled zone and an industrial vacuum cleaner

The permit states its type, its registration number and the conditions for the work (§ 41 ods. 6). Ask for the registration number and check that the type matches your job before you sign anything.

How is asbestos cement waste classified and where does it go?

The waste catalogue (decree 365/2015 Z. z.) lists asbestos waste from buildings in subgroup 17 06. Code 17 06 05 covers building materials containing asbestos and code 17 06 01 covers insulation materials containing asbestos. Both carry the letter N, which marks hazardous waste (§ 1 ods. 2 of the decree).

The Ministry of Environment explains in its 2022 methodology that dismantling with penetration coating and packing in polyethylene bags can count as partial stabilisation. The waste may then be coded 19 03 04, which is also hazardous waste. The ministry describes the next steps. The contractor packs the waste in marked polyethylene sheeting or big bags. The packs then go to a hazardous waste landfill. The contractor who does this needs a disposal consent from the district office and a bound trade licence for handling hazardous waste.

The waste act requires suitable packaging and labels for hazardous waste during collection, transport and storage (§ 25 ods. 4). A holder may hand waste only to an authorised person (§ 14 ods. 1 písm. e)). Details are in hazardous construction waste.

What should a homeowner do before a renovation?

Start with the survey, before the design is final and before any quotes are compared. Give the designer and the contractor every document that describes the house, including old projects and records of earlier repairs. Then ask the contractor to show a valid permit and its registration number.

Plan the timetable around the notice period. The permit holder must notify the authority at least 30 days before work starts (§ 41 ods. 13 of act 355/2007). Roof removal or demolition therefore cannot start the week you sign a contract. The employer must also prepare a work plan before demolition or asbestos removal starts. The plan covers removal of the asbestos before demolition, unless removal would put workers at greater risk. It also covers air measurement afterwards (§ 8 ods. 5 and 6). Mixed demolition debris follows its own rules, covered in construction and demolition waste.

Do not dismantle asbestos cement sheets yourself, even if they look intact. Breaking or sawing them releases the dust that these rules are designed to stop.

How is asbestos cement different from modern fibre cement?

Modern fibre-cement cladding is a different product. The regulation bans placing products that contain asbestos on the market (§ 4 ods. 1 písm. d)). A new fibre-cement cladding board sold today should therefore be asbestos-free. Older boards can look almost the same, so the difference has to be settled by a survey, not by eye.

Feature	Asbestos cement	Modern fibre cement
Asbestos content	Contains asbestos fibres	May not contain asbestos if placed on the market now (185/2026 § 4 ods. 1 písm. d))
Removal rules	Permit holder only (355/2007 § 41 ods. 1)	No asbestos permit applies, because the asbestos rules cover work with asbestos dust (185/2026 § 1 ods. 2)