Notable case, Harboøre (Lemvig), Midtjylland, Denmark
Høfde 42 (Harboøre Tange)
Høfde 42
A dump on the Harboøre Tange spit, in western Jutland, where the pesticide maker Cheminova dumped its waste between 1957 and 1962. It still holds more than a hundred tonnes of chemicals, including parathion and mercury.
At a glance
- Status
- Contained
- Activity
- 1957–1962
- Media
- soil, groundwater, surface water
- Kind of site
- agrochemicals, landfill, chemical works
- National list
- Listed 2021Generationsforureninger
Contaminants
Metals
Organic compounds
National list
Prioritised by the 2021 Finance Act agreementDenmark
Generation pollutions (generationsforureninger) (Generationsforureninger)
- Listed
- 2021
- Official id
- 673-00006
About this list
Denmark's ten worst legacy contaminations, in the Regions' joint plan funded by the State (Finance Act 2021, green fund 2024) under executive order no. 1353 of 21/06/2021 (amended by no. 1124 of 31/10/2024) on grants to the Regions for cleaning them up.
The plan gives names only: the location is that of the matching locality in the national DK-Jord register (locality number as id). Kærgård Klitplantage is the mean of its four waste pits. Contaminants are given only where the 2025 status note names them.
Status
Contained
Since 2006 the dump has been enclosed by about 600 m of steel sheet piling 11 m deep, with a plastic membrane on top; the enclosure was guaranteed until 2021. In December 2020, 630 million kroner was allocated for the first phase of clean-up, by thermal treatment at 350 °C, later postponed to 2023 because of the energy crisis (Danish Wikipedia).
Story
Cheminova had a permit to deposit three kinds of waste beside groyne number 42; in fact it dumped more than a hundred different substances, solid and liquid, left over from pesticide production. In 1961 the Danish state also used the site as a depot for a collection of chemicals.
Today an estimated 70 tonnes of parathion, 10 of malathion, 6 of sulfotep and 7 of mercury remain. The dump has been encapsulated with sheet piling and kept under an inward hydraulic gradient.
Auriga, the successor company to Cheminova, is contributing 125 million kroner to the clean-up.
Timeline
- 1957Cheminova starts dumping waste.
- 1962Dumping ends.
- 2006The sheet-pile enclosure is completed.
- 2020630 million kroner allocated for the first clean-up phase.
Remediation
- 2006sheet-pile encapsulationSteel sheet-pile wall (about 600 m, 11 m deep), cover membrane and inward hydraulic gradient.
- 2023thermal treatment (planned)Thermal treatment at 350 °C, first phase funded in 2020.
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Eichhornia crassipesWater hyacinthEvidence: field
- Azolla carolinianaCarolina mosquito fernEvidence: laboratory
Fungi
- Aspergillus nigerBlack mouldEvidence: laboratory
- Pleurotus pulmonariusPhoenix oyster, Indian oysterPesticides (mixed)Evidence: laboratory
- Rhodotorula taiwanensisEvidence: laboratory
- Boletus edulisKing bolete, porciniEvidence: survey of wild specimens
Nearby
Trial, Syddanmark, Denmark
Ringe (former coal-tar storage) and B&W shipyard soils
213 km
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- Coal tar
Mycoremediation
Trial, Rønnede, Denmark
Axelved, disused filling station
286 km
- Petroleum hydrocarbons
- BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes)
Phytoremediation
Notable case, Teckomatorp (Svalöv), Sweden
Teckomatorp (BT Kemi)
316 km
- Pesticides (mixed)
- Phenols and chlorophenols
Sources
- Høfde 42, Wikipedia (da), 2026
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.