cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/9956475

The Hajdú-Bihar County Government Office took action against Semcorp Hungary Kft., which manufactures lithium-ion battery separator films, following an investigation that uncovered severe subsurface contamination. The findings also detected a range of other heavy metals, while the mayor of Debrecen has announced a criminal complaint in the case.

The company had previously maintained that a leaking, pungent, unidentified substance was merely condensation water and posed no environmental risk.

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Chinese company insisted substance was harmless

The investigation began after samples were taken in February from a rainwater drainage channel near the industrial site, following an operational incident. During an on-site inspection on 26 February, officials recorded that a steaming, sharp-smelling, unidentified substance was seeping into the soil.

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Laboratory results revealed unexpectedly severe contamination. Aluminium concentrations in groundwater reached 2,676,000 micrograms per litre, compared with a legal threshold of 200 micrograms per litre — more than 13,000 times the permitted level, local Debreciner wrote.

In addition to aluminium, elevated levels of several metals were detected, including arsenic, zinc, lead, cobalt, cadmium, nickel, barium, chromium, copper, manganese, lithium and iron. According to the authorities, most of these are not of natural origin, a conclusion supported by baseline environmental data from 2021.

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Documents now in the public domain show that the authorities had already established a regulatory breach on 22 May. The contamination was traced to a section of the plant where aqueous aluminium oxide solutions are used — an area the company had intended to keep in operation.

The immediate suspension was deemed necessary, as further environmental damage could not be ruled out even during the appeals process.

The government office also noted that although Semcorp carried out mandatory sampling, it submitted the results after the deadline, resulting in a fine of one million forints. The company has challenged this penalty in court.

Multiple regulatory proceedings are now under way. Environmental authorities have ordered remediation measures, required a full site investigation, and launched proceedings over operations deviating from permit conditions. The company must also install waterproofing in a stormwater retention basin, conduct quarterly monitoring of observation wells, expand the scope of tested substances, and reimburse procedural costs exceeding two million forints.

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László Papp, the mayor of Debrecen, said the city and its asset management company had been informed of groundwater contamination exceeding legal limits, which he described as unacceptable.

He stressed that this was not the first instance in which environmental concerns had arisen in connection with the company, and confirmed that the municipality had filed a criminal complaint.

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