In 2017, Ekologistak Martxan complained that in the former Larrezabale landfill (located next to the Jata landfill) there was a lot of lindane that could clearly be seen and asked our authorities to do something about it. Four years later, this year, they finally began work on inspecting the land. But before starting this work, Ekologistak Martxan and BBT contacted the BBT Mungia Town Council to report the lack of security measures in this area.
A couple of weeks ago the city council informed us in a letter that the contracted company, Lurgintza, had taken all the necessary measures to ensure that no one has access to the contaminated area. It is true that the access road had been cut off with a sign indicating the presence of dangerous substances. But this weekend Ekologistak Martxan was warned that the works had been completed (since the workers’ hut had been removed) and that people had now free access to the contaminated area. So we went to the place and denounced the lack of security measures in presence of the Ertzaintza (Basque police). It should also be noted that that day a group of young people had been walking through the area near one of the points where exploratory work had been carried out and where water was leaking out. Apparently the owner of the land had placed a chain in the road to prevent people from entering, but the key had been given to the company, and we found the chain lying on the ground. Apparently the company had cut the lock, leaving the chain on the ground.
There are also still boxes full of earth samples and some of the samples even outside the boxes. Ekologistak Martxan and BBT once again denounce this lack of security measures, especially in view of the fact that lindane is highly toxic. According to reliable sources lindane is also present at the nearby Jata landfill and we wonder why some samples were not taken from there. Finally, Ekologistak Martxan suspects that the nearby Urzuriaga river is also contaminated.
