As SVT has previously reported, the industrial company Senior Materials in Svista in Eskilstuna has received permission to annually release 900 tons of the chemical methylene chloride into the air. The future emissions have caused widespread concern in Eskilstuna and a protest movement on social media today gathers over 7,000 members who demand that the factory be stopped.
Worried people contact the municipality
Many concerned residents have also turned to Eskilstuna municipality. This is what Kristina Birath, director of property and environment at the municipality, tells us.
Senior Materials factory in Eskilstuna
The expert on the fear of planned emissions from the factory in Eskilstuna: “No cause for concern”
Protest storm against planned toxic emissions from a factory in Eskilstuna
– We get about 40 calls or emails a day about this issue, she says.
On the municipality’s website there are now questions and answers relating to various aspects of Senior’s establishment in Eskilstuna and the new factory.
– We want to show everything we have done and everything there is to read, so that anyone who is worried has as many facts as possible.
Want to know more about the process
Kristina Birath and other representatives of Eskilstuna municipality, including municipal councilor Jimmy Jansson (S), believe that Senior must do more to inform the public.
– We want them to tell us more about their process and how they work to reduce emissions and remove methylene chloride, says Kristina Birath.
Within a couple of weeks, representatives of Eskilstuna municipality will have a meeting with Senior.
Senior: “Ask them to clarify”
Senior’s HR and communications manager Cecilia Vallin says in an email to SVT that the company has a constructive dialogue with Eskilstuna municipality.
Prior to the meeting with the municipality, Senior, according to Vallin, “asked them to clarify what they believe we as a private company should communicate to the public, and where in all the documents the responsible authorities received it was not clear how the business should be conducted in a safe and responsible manner. “
Will hold meetings
According to Vallin, information meetings are planned. “After that meeting, we will come up with a plan for how to proceed with communication efforts such as information meetings, and also who should be responsible for communication with the citizens of Eskilstuna,” she writes.
On your website has Senior recently posted more information about the new plant and the use of methylene chloride.