Denmark’s government announced Friday that it has launched an investigation to identify those responsible for a contaminated waste landslide threatening the environment in the country’s west.
Since December, soil from the Nordic Waste site has been sliding toward the Alling River near the village of Orst and the town of Landers.
The company, which specializes in removing contaminated soil, abandoned efforts to stop the landslide in mid-December, leaving the task to local governments.
The landslide carried away more than 2.5 million tons of contaminated soil.
“We need to determine whether the managers, owners and other people and companies of Nordic Waste and its surroundings can be held responsible for the damage caused,” Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke told reporters. he said.
The investigation will be conducted by a law firm representing the state.
“We want to do everything we can to make polluters pay,” Heunicke said.
The waste at the site primarily comes from mink farms in Denmark, which have been ordered to close due to the coronavirus pandemic, and also includes some waste imported from Norway.
The cleanup could cost up to 2.2 billion kroner ($321 million), according to engineering services consultancy Kawi.
The landslide was initially thought to be caused by heavy rains in the area. However, a report by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) concluded that the main factor was the large amount of soil deposited.
“Landslides…cannot be considered a ‘rare and unavoidable natural phenomenon,'” GEUS said.
