Many towns in Sweden seek funds to clean up polluted sites
The western city of Borås is hoping to get state money to clean up old textile industry residues that wound up at the bottom of Viskan river.
Swedish Radio’s local station there reports that the river’s sediment has large amounts of zinc, chromium and mercury, and toxins like dieldrin and dioxins.
The Environmental Protection Agency will decide whether to grant them money to prepare for the cleanup work, but the EPA gets more applications for cleanup work than they have money for, as Per Nilsson, who works at the agency dealing with polluted areas, tells Radio Sweden. That means some cleanup work has to wait until the EPA’s budget is replenished.
Nilsson talks about some of the sources of pollution in Sweden, which cleanup applications are prioritized, as well as some of the methods that can be used to get rid of contaminants.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Northern Canada: Giant Mine cleanup project could be complete by 2030, CBC News
Finland: Increasing ocean acidification ushering era of uncertainty for Arctic, says report, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Climate change is driving micro-algae blooms into High Arctic and may affect food chains, says study, Eye on the Arctic
Russia: Russian Navy sends clean-up team to Arctic trash dump, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Toxic algae a threat to Sweden’s water supply, Radio Sweden
United States: Alaska Native Regional Corporations are responsible for pollution, too, Cryopolitics Blog
