Peter Swalén lives next door to a rock crusher in Botkyrka where a company handles lots from the subway expansion in Stockholm. The noise from the activities in his garden is constantly heard.
– It hums in the mornings and evenings, you hear the pounding all the time. Plus the dust. It makes you feel bad.
But the neighbors are also concerned about what happens if the sulfide, which is naturally found in the rock, is leached out. It can have an acidifying effect on the environment and affect nature and wildlife.
– Children and animals and everything. What do animals get when they drink water in streams? It’s not good.
Afraid of a new environmental scandal
Just a stone’s throw from the site where Think Pinks is accused of dumping environmentally hazardous waste, and next door to a water source, a company has received 10,000 truckloads of crushed stone from the subway expansion. Here, the bumlings are ground into smaller stones that can be used as building material.
The municipality is afraid of a new environmental scandal and wants to stop the handling.
– We have taken the decision to ban the activity, says Jelinka Hall, environmental manager in Botkyrka municipality.
The municipality requires more detailed investigation of what the rock masses contain. So far, however, no tests have shown any contamination.
– As a supervisory authority, we need to receive documentation to see what kind of masses and materials are being received and what the purpose is, she continues.
The Stockholm region, which is building the new subway, dismisses the concerns.
– We see no reason for that concern. Rock in Stockholm has been used for over 100 years as a building material. It is the most used building material. And we don’t see that it will have any negative impact, says Niklas Bergman who is head of Region Stockholm’s administration for expanded subways.
When Botkyrka and other municipalities in the Stockholm area refuse to accept rock masses, they are forced to be driven further away, which, according to Region Stockholm, has led to cost increases in the billions and major environmental impact.
To be decided in court
According to the Norwegian Geological Survey, acidification has been measured in places with rock masses from the subway expansion in the 20th century. But many factors have an effect, and a new guideline produced by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency looks at how the risks can be managed.
The future of the rock masses in Botkyrka will be decided in court.
– I hope they stop with this, says Peter Swalén.
– We’ve had a problem before with Think Pink, so now I think it’s enough for Botkyrka municipality.