In Halsteren, many tons of sand are being dug away at the site of a huge drug dump. The contaminated sand is cleaned at ATM in Moerdijk. This week, one of the largest clean-up operations ever started in our province.
Waste processor ATM received 24 full trucks with the dirty sand from Halsteren this week. The sand from the pit is soaked with chemicals from a cocaine laundry on the Brabantse Wal. It all goes to a huge hall on the banks of the Hollandsch Diep.
Biggest
“Business as usual,” says Jacques de Jong of ATM. Once started as Moerdijk Waste Terminal in 1982, now simply ATM. It grew into one of the largest specialized cleaning factories of its kind in Europe.
And they cleaned a lot in all those years. From the controversial drug dumping in Rijsbergen to an entire residential area in Lekkerkerk. It’s great that we can do something, is the message from ATM.
Strict
The capacity is so large that ATM can clean the entire drug pit within a day. However, it is not about speed but about care. And strict rules.
You already notice this when you enter the site. Required are: special shoes, overalls, bright yellow jacket, goggles and helmet. And follow a fixed route. With a supervisor. Through gates with passes.
Sample
Trucks drive back and forth. “So they first arrive at the gate, then they go to a weighbridge. The sand is unloaded in a warehouse. We remove a small amount and then the analysis of that sample follows,” says Jacques de Jong.
“Such a sample is important. We do that with every shipment. We want to know what we process, so everything is included in a report,” says Aukje Oostendorp of Renewi, the parent company of ATM. “We have a large lab where we measure and store data.” Flasks bubble, glasses clink. Strict rules also apply here.
Factory
Measuring is knowing for ATM. Of course, soil research has already been done, so a lot is known about the substances. But ATM always wants to know exactly what is coming in. This way they can tailor the method and approach exactly to it. Once everything has been recorded, the load can proceed to the factory.
The first sand piles from Halsteren that were unloaded this week remain out of view. Strict rules stipulate that only specialists are allowed. Just like in the well itself. The poisonous toluene and benzene are dangerous and they don’t want any risks here.
Drum
“The sand comes from a warehouse into a rotating drum. It heats it to about 500 degrees and then the dissolved substances evaporate. We capture that gas. And it goes to an afterburner where it is destroyed, at 900 degrees.” What’s left is water and carbon dioxide going out the chimney.
The sand of Halsteren will not return. But it’s not waste either. It is filtered into three final products. The coarser gravel, regular sand and the finer filler. “We continue to test this in our laboratory. These are products that we supply to the concrete industry. They then use them to make paving slabs and stones.”
And the empty dug well in Halsteren? This will eventually be filled with other sand.