A very large and international consulting firm has been drawn into the criminal investigation surrounding the waste company Think Pink. A consultant at the company is suspected of aiding and abetting a serious environmental crime, for having issued incorrect certificates and reports to Think Pink. At the same time, people around the country, who have been affected by the suspected criminal company’s dumping of construction waste, are frustrated that they have not moved on proven contaminated land with high levels of environmental toxins. TV4 can now tell you that the large international consulting company WSP is involved in the ongoing criminal investigation against Think Pink. A consultant has been served with suspicion of aiding and abetting a serious environmental crime. He is suspected of having handled the company’s affairs with incorrect certificates and reports in the work he performed for the company vis-a-vis various authorities. According to the consultant’s e-mail, which TV4 has access to, a municipality raised questions about his actions and wondered if he was serious and attended to the company’s affairs. He himself also took a stand regarding the suspicions against Think Pink after the police arrested CEO Bella Nilsson, among others. He wrote to a municipality: “My personal reflection as an impartial environmental expert is that the NMT group has been wrongly accused of crimes”. 1,000 tons of construction waste were buried WSP declines an interview and replies in writing that the man has been fired, that they are taking what happened seriously and that they are cooperating with the police and prosecutors. At the same time, when the police investigation has almost been going on for three years, private individuals affected by the garbage dumping are wondering why the waste and toxins are not removed. – This summer it’s been four years since I made a report and you knew pretty soon what was buried because the police took a sample, says Anna Öhgren, a neighbor of a place where an estimated 1,000 tons of construction waste was buried next to a sensitive bay in Norrtälje. A property owner buried large amounts of mixed and unsorted construction waste and then built a campsite on top of the contaminated masses. The police and the municipality have taken samples and found “high levels of pollutants” which “even in low concentrations are harmful”. “A number of heavy metals at such levels that they can pose a risk to human health and the environment”. “You can’t do that damn much” Neighbors are worried about the spawning fish in the bay right next to the site and about the groundwater from which drinking water is taken. But even though almost four years have passed since the first report, the waste and toxins remain. – We know nothing about poisons in the lake, because no one has taken samples. You can’t do much, it’s like running straight into a stone wall. Nothing happens, there are appeals and appeals and nothing happens until it’s too late, says neighbor Ove Johansson. Criminal suspect at large consulting company In Norrtälje, the anger is directed not only at Think Pink, but also at the municipality’s failure to act in a way that caused the identified toxic masses to be removed. Norrtälje municipality does not answer questions and refers to police confidentiality, even though it is a municipal matter. – It was plastic, insulation, toilet seats and rings, tiles, floor drains. It looked as if someone had demolished an apartment building, says Anna Öhgren.
t4-general
The confusion surrounding Think Pink is growing – consultant is suspected of crime
