Overpelt
| Overpelt | |||
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| State : |
 Belgium
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| Region : | Flanders | ||
| Province : | Limburg | ||
| District : | Maaseik | ||
| Coordinates : | 51 ° 13 ' N , 5 ° 26' E | ||
| Area : | 40.85 km² | ||
| Residents: | 15,478 pop. | ||
| Population density: | 379 inhabitants per km² | ||
| Post Code: | 3900 | ||
| Prefix: | 011 | ||
Overpelt ( Limburgish : Pelt ) is a district of the Belgian municipality of Pelt ( Limburg province in the Flanders region ) with 15,478 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2018). The place is not far from the border with the Netherlands , 25 km south of Eindhoven . Overpelt was an independent municipality until January 1, 2019.
geography
Overpelt is separated from the neighboring Neerpelt by the Dommel , a tributary of the Meuse . There are four water mills on the Dommel in Overpelt, of which, two were the Kleinmolen and Wedelse Molen , mentioned in 710th
Zinc factory
Overpelt site is a major zinc factory of Umicore . It was founded in 1888 by the German industrialist Wilhelm Schulte. Schulte did not get a permit to build his plant in the Ruhr area , as the activities in Germany were already considered too polluting at that time.
In the purely rural Overpelt with its uneconomical sandy soil, its heather and forests, Schulte's factory was delighted, as it industrialized the area together with the new Maas-Scheldt Canal and the Antwerp - Mönchengladbach railway (the so-called cotton railway ). After the First World War , the plant was nationalized. Since 1989 it has been part of today's Umicore.
environmental pollution
Umicore's zinc factory, along with similar factories in Lommel , Balen and Budel , has heavily polluted the soil with cadmium . You are not allowed to drink your own ground water in Overpelt; We do not recommend consuming vegetables from your own gardens. A high percentage of cancer cases in the local population is attributed to zinc works, but has never been scientifically proven.
In 2004 Umicore signed an agreement with the Flemish government under which the company will pay for the remediation of soil and groundwater contamination in and around the four plants. After detailed soil investigations, the renovation of the disused production areas in Overpelt began in autumn 2006.
Operation Market Garden
In 1944, Allied troops captured Joe's Bridge , the springboard for the land forces of Operation Market Garden, from the zinc factory site .
industrial Estate
Today, in the vicinity of the Umicore zinc factory near the Overpelt-Fabriek district, there is an important industrial area for the entire region, the so-called Nolimpark from 1961. It was one of the first industrial areas in Belgium. The place Overpelt has accordingly developed into a small town, together with the neighboring Neerpelt.
