So, for my second course in the ERM program, we did an excursion to a hazardous waste site north of Amsterdam that is currently being reclaimed. The site is called Volgermeerpolder. The city of Amsterdam began dumping waste here after the peat was harvested for burning at the turn of the century. Turns out household waste was being deposited along with industrial waste through the 40s-70s. Think lots of unlabeled drums and materials that years later would leak dioxins, PAHs, agent orange, benzene and heavy metals into the nearby canals and soil. The waste is 4-6 meters in depth across the entire area with an estimated 10,000 drums of unknown substances. Come the 1980s and residents nearby call on Amsterdam to close the site. After a year of public outcry, the site is closed. (This is a link about the site, it is in Dutch, but you can see some pictures: http://www.volgermeer.nl/ua.asp).
It would take another 20 years before Amsterdam, the Netherlands and residents agreed upon a cleanup plan. This plan is now being implemented and should be finished in the next 5 years. The engineers working on the project presented to our class prior to our excursion to the site. The reclamation involves covering up the waste site with a plastic liner, including gas lines to vent the methane, adding soil layers and building a series of small ponds which will circulate water within the system. Outside the confinement area monitoring wells are set up to track pollutant levels in the water tables in the “safe” area. Eventually, the site is planned to be a “natural area” where you could take your kids and dog for a walk! Just pray those monitoring wells and liner are really working!
Ok, ok perhaps you don’t want to know the history of this waste site. I was just somewhat dumbfounded that there was a 20 year gap in action! They are using soil from the metro line being developed under the channel to north Amsterdam to cover the waste dump. Some 2.3 million cubic meters of soil will be used on the site.