Managing asbestos streams in developing and transition countries is particularly challenging. Deficiencies are often present for adequate procedures for the management of asbestos waste; solid quality data or databases on the quantities of asbestos production and usage are missing and asbestos inventories or the registry of asbestos-related diseases following European Union (EU) or other regulations are not in place. This paper aims to develop a model for determining and assessing the quantity of asbestos in the built environment of a transition country. Quantities of asbestos products and life expectancy of those products were assessed to develop a model that forecasts flows and stocks of asbestos products and wastes. The overall objective is to evaluate the model and show the manifestation of asbestos in the waste stream in a case study on a country with a transition economy, such as Serbia. Results show that total quantities of asbestos fibre consumption are approximately 0.5 million tonnes; the largest amount of waste generation is expected in the 2020s. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare for the forthcoming quantities of waste by improving legal procedures, implementation of existing regulations, and provision of economic resources. An important link for the adequate management of asbestos waste is to raise public awareness of the dangers and importance of proper and timely disposal of asbestos products.

Asbestos has been used worldwide in a large number of products throughout the 1970 s and 1980s. After the proven influence of asbestos materials on diseases that could have a fatal outcome was confirmed, bans on the use and production of these materials began. However, there are still significant quantities of asbestos waste and materials in the environment and there is a need for safe and permanent solution. As a support to sustainable development by minimizing waste production and harmful emissions as well as by reducing the consumption of natural resources, the circular economy (CE) is recognized in the EU as a leading solution. The main meaning of CE in waste management field is to turning waste into a resource. Considering above-mentioned, this paper presents how to resolve a problem of asbestos waste that is currently and will continue to be present. Instead of occupying the space, which is also a valuable resource, with landfills that also raise cost, asbestos can be used in construction material industry. Paper presents estimated amounts of asbestos waste, proposal for appropriate waste collection, treatment and market placing of a new product in Serbia. The conclusion of the paper is that the presented model of circular economy for asbestos in Serbia is feasible, in this way it would be possible to achieve some incomes from material selling and, also, releasing some space. In addition, for the implementation of this model of asbestos management, it is necessary to have Government involvement through investment in infrastructure and improvement of legislation.

Flood risk is increasingly shaped by the combined effects of climate change and the vulnerability of built environments, while building-level flood damage severity analysis is often constrained by limited data availability. This study develops a transparent and reproducible framework for analyzing building-level flood damage severity under climate-adjusted hazard conditions in data-constrained environments. The framework integrates administrative post-event damage records, GIS-based terrain information, a terrain-based proxy flood-depth reconstruction procedure, and a standardized Rhine Atlas/ICPR depth–damage relationship. Representative terrain-based proxy flood depths are reconstructed using building locations, terrain elevation, and settlement-level exposure assumptions. Observed damage categories are not used to assign proxy flood depths directly, but serve exclusively as empirical ordinal reference information for ordinal consistency assessment of model-derived damage severity. Climate effects are incorporated through a simplified hazard adjustment based on projected changes in extreme precipitation intensity. The framework is applied to 413 residential buildings affected by flood events in Serbia during the period 2016–2021. Results show a consistent nonlinear relationship between terrain-based proxy flood depth and ICPR-derived structural damage severity, as well as a strong influence of terrain elevation on relative hazard intensity. Climate-adjusted sensitivity scenarios indicate that even moderate increases in extreme precipitation lead to measurable increases in structural damage severity and an upward shift in model-derived damage levels. The proposed framework provides a practical approach for flood damage severity analysis in data-constrained environments, supporting improved decision-making in sustainable flood risk management and climate adaptation planning.

Zagađenje vazduha je svakodnevni problem na gradilištima, a najveći problem je prašina, koja se javlja tokom bušenja, kopanja, rušenja, površinske obrade betona, sečenja drveta, testerisanja raznih greda, sečenja pločica i sličnih operacija. Zajedničko za sve pomenute radne operacije je supstanca – silicijum dioksid, koja se nalazi u hemijskom sastavu materijala koji se obrađuje, i to je trenutak kada se formira silikatna prašina. Silikatna prašina je hemijska opasnost koja, kao takva, ima sistemske efekte po zdravlje. Sistemski efekat po zdravlje je efekat po zdravlje koji se javlja na mestu udaljenom od početne tačke kontakta sa telom i takođe utiče na bubrege, jetru ili druge organe. Supstance sa sistemskim efektima često se akumuliraju u ciljnim organima, gde ispoljavaju štetne efekte. Silikoza je bolest pluća uzrokovana udisanjem prašine koja sadrži čestice silicijum dioksida. Čestice silicijuma su definisane kao „respirabilne“ i obično su manje od 5 mm u prečniku. Ovaj oblik silicijuma se naziva „respirabilni kristalni silicijum“ (RCS). Često se zanemaruje na radnom mestu jer je bezbojan, bez mirisa, ne iritira i ne izaziva neposredne efekte po zdravlje. Silikoza je fibrozna bolest pluća koja se razvija kada čestice silicijumske prašine ostanu u plućima, izazivajući ožiljke tkiva. U zavisnosti od koncentracije silicijumske prašine u vazduhu, silikoza može biti hronična (najčešći oblik), akutna ili akumulirana. Velike količine prašine koje se talože u plućima radnika slabe njihov imunitet i time postaju podložniji različitim simptomima (kratkoća daha tokom fizičkog napora, bol u grudima, jak kašalj, umor), ali i bolestima kao što su tuberkuloza, određene kardiovaskularne bolesti, sarkoidoza, plućna tuberkuloza, infekcije pluća, hronična opstruktivna bolest, određene vrste tumora, rak pluća, autoimune bolesti i poremećaji bubrega, koje mogu biti pogoršane HIV-om ili pušenjem. Često, gore pomenuti efekti i bolesti nisu vidljivi dok se ne dostigne kritično opterećenje organizma. Najveći rizik je silikoza, bolest za koju ne postoji lek i za koju je prevencija neophodna. Na osnovu navedenog, napominje se da tokom obuke zaposlenih o bezbednom i zdravom radu u građevinskom sektoru, značajnu pažnju treba posvetiti podizanju svesti radnika o zdravstvenim efektima silikatne prašine. Cilj ovog istraživanja je podizanje svesti zaposlenih u građevinskom sektoru o zdravstvenim efektima izloženosti respirabilnoj silikatnoj prašini i isticanje važnosti edukacije radnika kao ključne preventivne mere. Povećanjem svesti o zdravstvenim posledicama i pružanjem realnih primera progresije bolesti, menja se mentalni model rizika i percepcija radnika o njihovom ponašanju, čime se smanjuje izloženost. Iz tog razloga je neophodno da, pored obuke zaposlenih, poslodavac obezbedi adekvatnu podršku, neophodnu ličnu zaštitnu opremu i pojačan nadzor. Edukacijom zaposlenih o zdravstvenim efektima silikatne prašine, preventivne mere se transformišu od obaveznih zadataka u svesne lične odluke.