Ukraine’s Asbestos Emergency: War Debris Poses Hazardous Waste Challenge

Ukraine lacks services or landfills to handle asbestos-contaminated rubble emerging from its war-damaged buildings, a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) official has warned, raising fresh concerns for workers and communities as reconstruction gathers paceMore than 70% of roofs on residential and public buildings in Ukraine are covered with corrugated asbestos-cement sheets, according to a UN Environment Programme article published on May 7, 2025. The material also appears in fencing and pipes used for water supply and heat removal systems.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Asbestos, which severely damages the lungs and can cause fatal diseases even decades after exposure, has been banned throughout Europe since 2005 (in Italy since 1992).The scale of destruction caused by Russian land operations and bombing compounds the challenge. According to KSE Institute’s count, published on 17 August 2026, there are nearly 416,000 damaged or destroyed buildings as of February 2026. That figure measures building damage; it does not establish how many affected structures contained asbestos. However, it gives an idea of ​​the size of the problem.EU-supported research involving Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) Institute and Open Environmental University Plus wrote a local study European Green Dimensions: Fundamental, Applied, and Industrial Aspects (2025), which provides more specific evidence. Researchers surveying demolition waste across seven communities in Mykolaiv region, covering 33 hectares, reported 713.82 tons of building materials containing asbestos. These data refer to a single Ukrainian region. Other Topics of Interest Taiwan Cement Backs Ukraine’s Recovery With IFCEM Investment One of the world's largest cement producers, Taiwan Cement Corporation, is set to become a strategic investor in Ukraine's IFCEM, a rare wartime entry of a global industrial player into a Ukrainian asset. The study warns that improper handling of demolition waste can contaminate soil, air and water. Its discussion of recovering concrete, brick, wood and metals illustrates the wider reconstruction challenge: retrieving useful materials while managing hazardous components.First announced in 2025, UNEP launched a Japan-funded initiative to strengthen hazardous waste management. The initiative was designed to examine handling methods, costs, disposal space and public health considerations, alongside material testing, worker safety and site trials. Together, the sources document an urgent waste-management problem. They urge urgent investments in safe handling and disposal capacity.On Sept. 24, at the Odesa Region Recovery Conference, the Senior Programme Officer of UNEP in Kyiv, Pier Carlo Sandei, confirmed that Ukraine has no services and suitable landfills to dispose asbestos-contaminated debris or dangerous waste.All the rubble is piled up in open fields without any hazardous waste separation, much less a recycling system. Therefore, both waste collection workers and residents near the dumps are exposed to serious health risks.The 2022 Law of Ukraine on Public Health banned the use of asbestos in the construction of new buildings, but did not provide regulations for its removal from old buildings.Yet, this sector represents a major business opportunity for international companies specializing in collection and storage, which could benefit from funds raised by an international program. Ugo Poletti Ugo Poletti is the Editor-in-Chief of “The Odessa Journal”, online newspaper that was launched during the Covid-19 quarantine to provide news about art, culture, history, business and social life in the maritime capital of Ukraine. He is an Italian entrepreneur, co-founder of the “Rotary Club Odessa Internationa”l, dealing with charity initiatives. During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he wrote a book for the Italian readers: “Nel cuore di Odessa”, that was published in Italy, on June 2022.