People in a Danish village live in fear that their homes will be swept away by a landslide of contaminated soil in one of the worst environmental disasters in the country’s history.
The landslide is moving slowly towards Orst, a village of 400 people south of Landers on the Jutland peninsula, after it began moving mud from a nearby factory run by Nordic Waste, which has already demolished buildings.
At least 2 million tonnes of contaminated soil is thought to be moving at a speed of 2 meters per day, down from 9 meters per day, and experts predict it is headed for villages. There are concerns that it could pollute the Allingoo River.
A report by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) on the scandal, which sparked outrage across Denmark, found that the landslide was caused by human activity rather than a natural phenomenon. It is understood to include material from Norway.
Clean-up costs are expected to reach 205 million Danish kroner (23.5 million pounds) over the next six months, and could ultimately reach billions of dollars.
Nordic Waste, whose website’s tagline is “We give new life to the planet,” declared bankruptcy last week, saying: ”
René Møller Larsen, whose shop is 500 meters up the hill from the landslide and who has lived in the area for decades, said the normally peaceful rural community was left shaken. Ta.
“They’re in shock. And then the trash [contaminated soil] It was moving very fast. The worst case was that it came to the village,” he said. Although the progress of the landslides has slowed significantly, he believes it will be several months before the full impact becomes clear. “What’s the point of bringing trash into Denmark?” They only see one thing: money. ”
There was speculation in Denmark that recent heavy rains were the cause of the landslide. But Christian Svennevig, a senior researcher at GEUS and one of the authors of the report on the disaster, said he had found evidence dating back to 2021 of the movement, which accelerated last year and was published in December. It was done.
“What we concluded is that this is not a natural phenomenon, it is a man-made phenomenon, and it is not due to climate change,” he said. “Essentially, the contaminated soil itself is starting to slide, and it started sliding in the relatively dry years of 2021 and 2022, which is not what you would expect in a natural landslide.”
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Although some of the most immediate dangers have been alleviated, millions of tons of contaminated soil are still on the move, and it is not yet clear how fast they are moving or how far they will reach. Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke said the disaster was still in its “acute phase”.
Svenevig said creating a computer model of the landslide would help better limit its future path, noting that the disaster was “already the largest of this century and is still evolving.”
Nordic Waste and the Danish government have been contacted for comment.