In 1994, SPOLANA s.r.o. entered into a contract with the Czech National Property Fund (now the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic) to concern the environmental burdens of the state associated with privatised property.
The following areas were classified as environmental obligations:
- The remediation of toxic waste dumps;
- The remediation of structures contaminated by dioxins;
- The remediation of old amalgam electrolysis;
- The remediation of underground waters.
The remediation of toxic waste dumps was conducted between 1994 and 1996. The dump mainly stored brine sludges with mercury content. As part of remediation, the dump was isolated from the surrounding area, meaning that an environmental containment unit was built, consisting of horizontal and vertical sealing, and a system of inspection and pumping wells was put in place. Inspection monitoring of the dump is currently underway, the results of which do not show any anomalies.
The remediation of structures contaminated with dioxins was carried out between 2003 and 2013. During the remediation process, contaminated structures were demolished and debris was decontamination, all under the strict conditions of protecting health and the environment. Thermal desorption and alkaline hydrolysis were both part of the decontamination process. The decontaminated material was then subjected to strict control processes and, if satisfying the required qualitative parameters, was re-used to backfill the remediated site.
As part of the remediation of old amalgam electrolysis, which was carried out from 2004 to 2015, the structure itself was demolished and a sarcophagus constructed. The contaminated part of the soil that could not be safely decontaminated is enclosed within the sarcophagus. Post-remediation monitoring of underground waters is currently underway.
An updated analyses is the risk of residual pollution was compiled after the completion of this remediation work. This analysis identified additional contamination on one bank of the River Elbe. Remediation is currently underway at this site, the work likely to be completed in 2021.
The remediation of underground waters.
The remediation of underground waters involves full monitoring of underground and surface waters within the Spolana complex and the adjacent surroundings. The results of monitoring led to the preparation of remediation of underground waters at two Spolana sites - at the Petrochemie and Starý závod sites. The pre-project preparation required to begin the process of selecting a contractor for project documentation is currently underway.