The Hart voor Emmen group is concerned about the former Air filter factory AAF on the Bargermeer industrial estate in Emmen. The building has been empty for years and is regularly the target of vandalism. Partly in view of the history of the factory (the company would knowingly exposed employees to the carcinogenic substances), a fear Hart voor Emmen Environmental and Health Risks for the environment.
The factory was in Emmen for fifty years and made air filters for, among other things, the pharmaceutical industry and hospitals. At the end of 2017, the decision was to close its doors. The parent company no longer saw salvation in it. In total, two hundred employees were on the street. Shortly thereafter, the news came out that the factory exposed employees to the carcinogenic formaldehyde.
The group noticed that the site was still closed years after closure and is provided with warning signs that indicate danger. Weeds and rampant green arise everywhere. Windows are thrown in and old awnings were torn from the facades. The fences around the building clearly do not keep everyone outside and it seems that the building may be entering.
Reason for Hart voor Emmen to ask written questions about this. “Given the history of this area, in which employees are exposed to Formaldehyde in the past, we are concerned. Among other things about current environmental and health risks for local residents and possible unauthorized truckers,” the party said.
Hart voor Emmen wants to know, among other things, whether soil investigation has been carried out and whether there is soil or groundwater pollution. In addition, the group wants to know whether there is any supervision and what the future plans are for the site.
Group chairman Robart de Jong finds the situation worrying. “Although there are signs with ‘not entering’, they still enter. Formaldehyde is a fleeting stuff, but the walls turned green at the time.” According to him, an investigation into the necessary remediation of the land would not be a superfluous luxury.