Box 7H Inventory of contaminated sites in Denmark

In Denmark, a register of contaminated sites is issued once a year by the Danish Environment Protection Agency since the adoption in 1990 of the law regulating waste dump sites. The data collected by each regional council comprise: the location of each site, its size, present and former use and main contaminants present; also included is an estimation of the risk the site represents for the groundwater, the surface water and the people who live nearby. On the basis of this information, priorities are selected for remediation plans which are submitted to the Danish Environment Protection Agency for financial support. From this register, it appears that the majority of contaminated sites are former waste dump sites, and approximately 15 per cent are used for residential purposes (Figure 7.5). Leachates contain mainly organic substances, heavy metals, solvents, chlorinated organic solvents, oil, petrol and other substances coming from tars. Over the period 1982 to 1992, 2547 sites have been recorded (Figure 7.6), and about 1250 projects and 460 protective measures have been carried out. Based on the conclusions of the registration activities, it is estimated that there should be about 11 000 contaminated sites in Denmark. By the end of 1993, ECU 95 million had been spent for the registration of contaminated sites, the implementation of protection measures against contaminants dispersion, and clean-up activities. The total costs of cleaning up would be about ECU 3 billion; this figure includes voluntary actions estimated at ECU 1 billion .

Source: Miljøstyrelsen, 1993


Figure 7.5 - Inventory of contaminated sites in Denmark by pollution type and polluted area

Source: Miljøstyrelsen, 1993


Figure 7.6 - Trend in the number of registered waste dump sites in Denmark (1982­92)