During the summer, a protest movement has emerged on social media where several thousand people demand that Senior Materials’ future factory outside Eskilstuna be stopped. Above all, what has made many worried is that the company received permission to annually release a maximum of 900 tons of the toxic substance methylene chloride into the air.
– I can understand that because it is a very large emission. But it is about very low concentrations in very high air flows, says Mikaela Öster.
Senior Materials factory in Eskilstuna
After the big protests – Eskilstuna municipality in a meeting with Senior Materials
Hundreds protested Senior Materials’ release
According to Öster, the delegation had no objections to the quality of the investigation that the company presented in its application. Calculations show that the emissions will fall below the target values set by the World Health Organization, among others.
Then the permit can be revoked
Mikaela Öster also mentions that the company would be taking a big risk if it did not present as solid an investigation as possible.
– If you submit an investigation that is misleading or incorrect, it is grounds for revoking the permit, she says.
Methylene chloride’s health-hazardous properties are primarily considered a work environment problem, but it is also a greenhouse gas that contributes to negative climate impacts.
The conditions for the permit include, among other things, that the company must work to remove methylene chloride from production.
– After the trial period, we have the opportunity to decide on stricter conditions, so it is in the company’s interest to participate in that process.
Deficiencies in communication
The environmental review delegation had objections to the way the company had managed the communication with the nearby residents.
– It is clear that it would have been good if the company had been able to explain in a clearer way and at an early stage what it is all about, says Mikaela Öster.
After the storm of criticism, the company has posted information on its website on the use of methylene chloride. Senior Materials’ communications manager says at the same time in a debate article in Eskilstuna-Kuriren wrote that the company does not consider it their role to inform the public. She believes that it is the responsibility of authorities and politicians.
“Our responsibility is to ensure that the process for obtaining permission goes right – not to prove to the public that the solvent is safe,” she writes.
That’s why the factory got permission – hears judge Mikaela Öster in the video clip above