The wastewater from a landfill in Kruibeke, operated by De Vlaamse Waterweg, contains five times more uranium and up to eleven times more cobalt than is legally permitted. The carcinogenic substances nickel and beryllium also exceed the standard. The waste water ended up directly or via a canal in the Scheldt, according to an official report that the editors of the VRT research program ‘Pano’ could view. The prosecutor’s office is investigating the case.
Measurements from October 2021 led to a “priority official report” in March 2022, which is now on the offices of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of East Flanders. The measured values in the waste water far exceed the standard, as it turns out.
For example, five times more uranium was found in the water that went to the Scheldt than is legally permitted. Cobalt was also up to eleven times more common in the water that was discharged into the canal. And also nickel and beryllium exceeded the standard.
The environmental inspection also established that at least 23,000 tons of sludge ended up in the landfill from a West Flemish company that processes waste. And the landfill had no permit at all for that, says the environmental inspectorate in the official report.
The Flemish Waterway responds in writing to the official report. According to the company, the increased concentrations may be due to “historical pollution of the environment” or the substances are “naturally present”. In its own words, the Vlaamse Waterweg also immediately met the action points in the PV. De Waterweg still denies that they would have accepted sludge without a permit.
According to Philippe Jorens, professor of clinical toxicology at the University of Antwerp, the health risk is mainly for underwater life, less for the people living around the site. “The danger mainly arises with large quantities of these substances,” he says to the ‘Pano’ editors.
The landfill can also be seen on the map that OVAM published on Tuesday and can be viewed below. Attention: on smartphones it can be difficult to zoom in, but The map can also be viewed via this link.
IN MAP. Check here if one of the 2,500 historic landfills is located in your area
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