DP MP Gusty Graass posed a parliamentary question, asking whether the capacity of the retention pond in the industrial zone, where the company is located, was not capable of containing the three million litres of firewater used, according to estimates. Minister for the Environment Carole Dieschbourg said that was not the problem.
Dieschbourg pointed at failures of certain security infrastructures from whence the pollution originated. The ZI Gadderscheier retention basin can retain a significant amount of water; however, it was discovered that the basin's safety valve did not close properly and therefore security was not guaranteed. Dieschbourg further explained the the failure was due to age and lack of maintenance rather than the basin's capacity.
The fire at the end of July on the Kronospan site, which specialises in the production of wood panels, required a marathon 3 day intervention by fire fighters. 32 intervention centres mobilised across the country to deal with the blaze, with 220 fire fighters on site for the first evening alone.
The water pollution was soon visible, after several dead fish were discovered in the river. The fire was extinguished on the Friday and by the following Monday, the most important parameters had improved and returned to normal. Since then live fish have been spotted again in the Chiers, said Dieschbourg.
