Published September 28,2023
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The US electrical automotive producer Tesla has reported 26 environmental incidents at its so-called gigafactory in Grünheide close to Berlin because it opened a yr and a half in the past.
The incidents got here to gentle in a report by German news outlet Stern in a report back to be broadcast on Thursday night, which cites the Brandenburg State Office for the Environment. The report was made accessible to dpa.
These embody spilled substances equivalent to paint and diesel, in addition to fires.
According to the environmental company of Brandenburg, the federal state that surrounds the German capital, the incidents are operational disturbances, not incidents within the sense of the the nationwide main accidents ordinance. Part of the location is positioned in a water safety space.
Tesla rejects the issues.
The automotive producer admitted that there had been a number of incidents on the manufacturing unit website throughout development and since commissioning. None of the incidents was an incident below the Federal Ambient Pollution Control Act, and none induced environmental injury, in line with the corporate. Corrective measures have been applied when essential, Tesla stated.
The head of ecosystems on the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Martin Pusch, spoke of a elementary hazard with regard to consuming water.
“There is a high risk of drinking water supply being affected due to the low retention capacity of the subsoil,” Pusch advised dpa.
Brandenburg Environment Minister Axel Vogel admitted in response to a query from Stern that issues had arisen on the plant website however he didn’t see any hazard.
Asked if he might rule out that the groundwater below the manufacturing unit was contaminated, he advised Stern: “I can rule it out. The monitoring is working.”
The spills embody 15,000 litres of paint, 13 tons of aluminium and 50 and 150 litres of diesel in two separate incidents.
According to data from the state environmental company, the paint and aluminium have been disposed of professionally or correctly. In the case of the diesel, the soil was excavated in a single case.
Stern additionally reported that after a hearth in September 2020, as much as 300 litres of extinguishing water seeped into the bottom; in May 2023, 250 litres of diesel leaked from a petroleum station on the location. The State Environmental Agency didn’t present any data on this.
The April 2022 spill on the paint store involving 15,000 litres of paint combination was already recognized. At the time, the decrease water authority of the Oder-Spree district labeled the liquid as barely hazardous to water however famous it had not entered the groundwater. The Strausberg-Erkner water board, nonetheless, spoke of an incident.
Since March 2022, there have additionally been eight fires. In one case, a hearth at an unlawful waste website in September 2022 was brought on by a shredded battery in a wooden transport field, in line with the state environmental company. Water was taken in to extinguish the fireplace and the affected unpaved space was excavated.
Just a few days later, cardboard and wooden caught hearth there. The extinguishing water had seeped into the bottom, however the soil samples have been unremarkable.
Tesla has been producing electrical automobiles in Grünheide since March 2022. Environmentalists and conservationists see risks as a result of a part of the manufacturing unit is positioned in a water safety space. Tesla has rejected these issues.
According to the newest data from the corporate, round 11,000 staff work on the manufacturing unit in Grünheide, producing an estimated 250,000 automobiles a yr. Tesla needs to develop the manufacturing unit.
Source: www.anews.com.tr