Bitterfeld is a small town in the industrial area in Germany between Dresden & Berlin. The contamination situation at the Bitterfeld megasite is related to the industrial development of the area, which began more than 100 years ago and resulted in three main industries:
- open-cast lignite mining
- production of energy
- chemical industries.
Up to 1990, in an area covering about 10 km2, more than 5,000 different products and compounds were produced.
The chemical production and the disposal of chemical waste in abandoned open-cast lignite mines lead to a large-scale soil and groundwater contamination, estimated at about 100 million cubic meter of contaminated water. The first comprehensive remediation framework concept for Bitterfeld was completed in 1994. The complete decontamination is technically and economically not feasible. The stepwise approach of the IMS leads to a feasible scenario where risk reduction and costs are optimized. Final decisions about the implementation of the plans still have to be made.
Checklist of existing information
Information |
Bitterfeld |
---|---|
Megasite area |
25 km2 |
Land use (maps |
General topographic map |
Documents from involved |
Bitterfeld database, geological model UFZ, data of LMBV |
Historical timeframe |
Chemical production, lignite mining and chemical waste landfilling |
Range of substances produced/ |
Chlorinated and non-chlorinated organics, to some extent heavy |
Potential sources (existing landfills, etc.) |
Land-fill and high concentration groundwater damage represent four km2 |
Potential receptors (residential areas, |
Land use /topographic maps |
Predominant stakeholders |
LAF, MDSE, Municipalities of Bitterfeld, Wolfen, LAWA, Bitterfeld Chemie AG |
The deliverables of the case-study of Bitterfeld can be downloaded under Workpackage 3 in the 'About' part of the IMS: About->Deliverables.