Herfa-Neurode underground landfill
The Herfa-Neurode underground landfill ( UTD Herfa-Neurode ) is the world's largest underground landfill for hazardous waste. The landfill is located in Heringen in Hesse and is operated by K + S KALI GmbH, a company of the K + S Group .
Landfill data
The areas of the mine used as landfill extend between 700 and 750 m depth over 6 km (west-east) and 5 km (north-south). The storage rooms are 2.5 to 3.5 m high. The technical capacity is up to 200,000 tons per year. The delivery takes place by truck.
Around 70 employees work in the facility. Around 3.2 million tons of hazardous waste has been landfilled since the landfill was opened. The landfill rooms in the mined potash seam lie within a 300 m thick salt layer. Above the salt deposit there is a 100 m thick layer of clay and above it a 500 m thick overburden made of red sandstone and shell limestone.
history
The underground landfill was set up in 1972 in the dismantled areas of the Werra potash plant. It was the first landfill of its kind in the world. Today the UTD Herfa-Neurode is the largest underground landfill in the world. The operating procedures and safety precautions developed there are exemplary for other systems.
Storage of hazardous waste
As a class IV landfill, Herfa-Neurode offers the greatest possible safety for the disposal of hazardous waste. More than 3.2 million tons of hazardous waste are stored in the landfill (as of 2019). The storage takes place spatially separated according to 20 substance groups. Including 690,000 tons of dioxin and furan-containing waste, 220,000 tons of mercury-containing waste, 127,000 tons of cyanide-containing waste and 83,000 tons of arsenic-containing toxic waste. Before acceptance, the waste is checked for its chemical composition and compliance with the official emplacement permit. For safety reasons and to protect employees, certain types of waste may not be stored. Exclusion criteria are e.g. For example: liquid waste, explosive , self-igniting , radioactive , substances containing or forming pathogens, gas-forming or penetrating smelling substances.
The waste cadastre and the associated declaration analyzes are archived indefinitely. The waste from each producer can be localized and assessed with regard to the recyclable content even years later. Since the principle of the retrievability of the waste applied to the landfill operation from the beginning, there is the possibility of reprocessing waste containing valuable substances if suitable recycling processes are available.
business
According to the constitution, the federal states alone are responsible for enforcing waste legislation. Therefore, the highest state authority in Hesse, the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Agriculture and Consumer Protection is responsible. For the UTD Herfa-Neurode, the responsible ministry has a long-term safety certificate for the safety in the operational phase and in the post-operational phase, which is a prerequisite for the approval of the operation.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b C. Mayer: Herfa-Neurode underground landfill - Das Giftgrab In: Süddeutsche Zeitung edition of October 20, 2006
- ↑ ( page no longer available ) ks-entsorgung.com: UTD Herfa-Neurode ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 4, 2008
- ↑ M. Brendel: Toxic waste as a building material In: Die Zeit 2000
- ↑ Herfa-Neurode underground landfill . SZ Wissen 12/06, p. 64
- ↑ Die Welt: Herfa-Neurode underground landfill (from July 24, 2007)
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 52 ′ 26.9 " N , 9 ° 56 ′ 47.9" E