In her report “A River Story” Olga Orzechowska revealed that the tannery is polluting the Bóbr River with hazardous substances such as lead and cadmium. Because of their potential for biological accumulation, these heavy metals pose a particular threat to living organisms. Untreated wastewater is flowing from the tannery’s treatment plant in Leszno into the river.
The case was investigated a year earlier by the prosecutor’s office in Żagań, but it was discontinued. This happened after an expert report found that no crime had been committed. Following Orzechowska’s report, as TVN24 reports: The District Prosecutor’s Office in Zielona Góra initiated supervisory action and requested the files of the discontinued investigation.
Is the “Park Słowiański” natural and scenic complex at risk?
The beautiful “Park Słowiański” natural and scenic complex, located in Szprotawa, is only 18 km downstream from Leszno Górne and the tannery.
Fragments of a centuries-old oak forest, regarded as a natural tree stand, have survived in this area to the present day. Several dozen pedunculate and sessile oaks are natural monuments, while others, because of their age or form, qualify for recognition as such. There are also alder swamps growing on fertile wetland habitats with a high level of standing water, namely oxbow lakes and strips along watercourses originating from exposed springs. This type of naturally formed landscape accounts for almost half of the complex’s area.
Because of the uniqueness of their habitats, the spring vegetation communities found in the area are among the most valuable natural features. Sites where the European pond turtle, the common newt and other strictly protected species occur have been recorded here. One of the most valuable areas of the complex in this respect is Grzęzawisko Chorwackie, with a Bóbr oxbow lake, wetlands, marshes and springs. Because of its outstanding qualities, which require special legal protection, the creation of an ecological site or a documentation site was planned at Grzęzawisko.
In October 2021, SWP Nasze Wody shared a video on its channel indicating that the tannery was polluting the Bóbr