On Tuesday, 5 July, inspectors from the Environmental Crime Prevention Department of WIOŚ uncovered buried waste in fields near Legnica. Wojewódzki Inspektorat Ochrony Środowiska we Wrocławiu:
Across an area of approximately 2 hectares, 91 soil excavations were made using heavy equipment, to a depth of up to 3 metres—in each one, waste was found.
The inspectors add:
The illegally deposited waste included municipal waste, construction waste—rubble, bricks, and broken elements from electricity poles—as well as non-hazardous waste.
Unfortunately, hazardous waste—asbestos roofing felt and eternit—was found in two excavations. WIOŚ: – The waste was buried according to a certain pattern: the deepest layers consisted of construction rubble, followed by municipal waste.All this was done so that the illegal waste would be well hidden.
At the scene, employees of the Legnica branch of the Central Research Laboratory and officers of the Municipal Police Headquarters in Legnica collected water samples to test for petroleum compounds and heavy metals. The local government also conducted its own activities.
The Inspectorate:
Due to the large area of the site and the waste being deposited at different depths, it was difficult to estimate the amount of waste immediately at the scene. We established who owned the land. The owner of the land containing the waste was questioned. In view of the findings and the identified threat to human life and health and to the condition of the environment, a notification was submitted based on a justified suspicion that an offence under Article 183 § 1 of the Act of 6 June 1997, the Criminal Code, had been committed. Due to the possibility of soil contamination, we will refer the case to the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection.
Further proceedings are under way. Inspectors are determining who brought and deposited the waste, and where it came from.
Such an act may carry a fine of up to PLN 1 million.