Orbán government may have ordered asbestos-contaminated containerized boilers for social institutions, minister files complaint

Vilmos Kátai-Németh, Hungarian Minister of Social and Family Affairs has filed a criminal complaint against an unknown perpetrator in connection with the purchase of 400 overpriced containerized boilers—some of which were manufactured in China and contain the toxic substance asbestos—that were intended for the country’s social and state institutions, as reported by MTI based on information from the ministry.

The Fidesz government announced the purchase of 400 such pellet boilers in the fall of 2022. The goal was to reduce public institutions' natural gas consumption from October through the end of the heating season. This was justified at the time by the drastic rise in energy prices and the energy shortage in Western Europe caused by the war in Ukraine, which even led the government to declare an energy emergency in the summer of 2022. The procurement was announced by László Palkovics, then Minister of Technology and Industry. In order to ensure the transition to alternative heating methods, a call for proposals was ultimately issued in 2023–24 for the procurement and installation of 400 containerized boilers.

According to the complaint filed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Family, the boilers were ordered at an inflated price of 26 million forints (€71.700) each, for a total of 10.5 billion forints (nearly €29 million). The procurement was carried out by DriveCell Systems Zrt., which secured 200 units—presumably manufactured in-house—and an additional 200 Chinese-made ones. However, there was no assessment conducted at the institutions to determine where these should be installed, nor was there any evaluation of the boiler capacity needed for the locations in question.

The Faculty of Materials and Chemical Engineering at the University of Miskolc conducted tests on the Chinese container boilers and according to its summary report,

the boilers didn't meet environmental, electrical, fire safety, and occupational safety regulations in several respects. The Chinese boilers were never put into operation.

“According to information from the ministry, the intention was to address the problem of air pollution by issuing a government decree granting an exemption for the emission of harmful substances, citing the state of danger,” the ministry said in its press release.

According to the ministry, of the 400 boilers, only two are currently in operation at a correctional facility, while the rest have been idle for years and are located at social and child welfare institutions throughout Hungary.

We have sent questions to the ministry about the future of the boilers and will report back when we receive a response.