Thousands of mink have been buried after being slaughtered in Denmark.
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Morten Stricker / AP / SIPA
In Denmark, hastily buried mink carcasses in the fight against Covid-19 are a source of pollution, Danish Environment Agency Miljostyrelsen said in a preliminary report on Friday.
This incident has no direct impact on drinking water.
“Substances from buried mink were found under the pits (…).
The first step now is to collect and clean up, ”Miljostyrelsen said in a statement.
“It is important to stress that the experts clearly show that there is no risk for drinking water.
And they point to proven treatment methods that can remove pollution before it reaches lakes and streams, ”agency official Charlotte Moosdorf said in the statement.
15 million mink slaughtered
In November, Denmark decided to eliminate all of its mink herd because these some 15 million animals were suspected of carrying and transmitting a mutation of the coronavirus potentially problematic for humans.
Fearing phosphorus and nitrogen pollution from the decomposition of the bodies of dead animals in areas where they had been urgently buried, Copenhagen decided in December to unearth the four million carcasses when their possible contagious risk. will have completely disappeared, to be then incinerated as waste.
The two landfills are located in the western part of the Nordic country of 5.8 million people.
In one of them, signs of pollution were detected in three of the 32 boreholes drilled and in one of 26 on the other site.
This is nitrogen and ammonia pollution.
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