ANP factories on the Chemelot industrial estate
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 22:31
The province of Limburg wants a study into the influence of the Chemelot industrial estate on the health of local residents and employees on the site. In a motion, the Provincial Council requests the council to ask the cabinet to map out the effects of Chemelot.
The government recently announced that it wants to investigate the health effects of chemical company Chemours in Dordrecht. Limburg wants Chemelot in Geleen to be included in that research.
The Provincial Executive says it endorses the need for an investigation and will discuss this with the cabinet.
Court of Audit
Chemelot is an industrial estate wedged between the municipalities of Sittard-Geleen, Stein and Beek. More than 130,000 people live in those three municipalities. Political parties such as PvdA, SP, D66 and Party for the Animals fear that substances emitted by companies at Chemelot are bad for the health of residents.
In the motion in which they ask for the investigation, the parties also refer to a report from the Southern Audit Chamber. Last year he was critical of the supervision and enforcement by the province. The Court said that many violations are not detected.
Millions in fines demanded after incidents
Chemelot and four companies on the industrial estate are currently in court due to several serious incidents. On Monday, the Public Prosecution Service demanded a fine of 25 million euros against the chemical company Sabic due to four incidents. The Public Prosecution Service calls the company amateurish when it comes to safety. In an incident in 2016, a fire broke out in a tank containing a chemical substance. Two people were seriously injured, one of them later died in hospital.
Today the Public Prosecution Service demanded fines of 2.5 million euros against the chemical companies AnQore and OCI. The Public Prosecution Service says that AnQore has done too little to prevent a major prussic acid leak. When a major leak occurred in 2015, no one pressed the alarm button. AnQore’s lawyer calls it a minor incident and accuses the judiciary of being moody. He thinks the fine demanded by the Public Prosecution Service is exorbitantly high.
The Chemelot complex has sixty chemical companies, making it one of the largest chemical industrial estates in Europe.
2023-11-10 21:31:53
#Limburg #health #research #Chemelot
