Teckomatorp
Encyclopedia
Teckomatorp is a locality
situated in Svalöv Municipality
, Skåne County
, Sweden
with 1,644 inhabitants in 2005. It has a train station (local pågatåg trains) on the Malmö
- Teckomatorp - Helsingborg
railway line.
In 2007, the old station building in Teckomatorp was transformed to host the Tapper-Popermajer Art Gallery and the café / specialty shop TraktensMat & Café (www.traktensmat.se). Teckomatorp is located at the very center of the Swedish-Danish Øresund region and is easily accessible by car or by local trains.
The village of Teckomatorp and its surroundings will be widely renowned for a vital and exciting cultural life, and as a place that attracts visitors from far-away because of its displays of unique sculptures and other public art objects. From its bad history, Teckomatorp will rise, and a positive culture zone is born in a strategic location close to the major cities of the region. The Kulturzon is a project that wants to change people's attitudes. The project wants to "culture" a positive image of Teckomatorp - www.kulturzon.se
s. During the 1970s, the inhabitants of Teckomatorp started complaining of an acrid odour from the plant that made people ill. It was also said that BT Kemi had buried barrels ot toxic waste
in the ground. However, the authorities did nothing for several years, despite efforts of campaigners such as Monica Nilsson, a resident of Teckomatorp, who conducted a signature campaign among the citizens. The government took steps to investigate the issue only after a former employee of BT Kemi told a newspaper that the company was entering forged values within allowed limits into its emission journals. When the authorities finally started to dig, several hundreds of barrels with toxic contents were found.
In 1979 the plant was demolished, and in 1980 the southern area around the plant itself was cleaned. Later it was discovered that the northern area of the town was also polluted, and that the southern area remained polluted despite cleanup efforts. In 2009 a project to restore nature was completed: tons of contaminated topsoil were removed, and a natural park has been established on the site of poisoned area.
Urban areas in Sweden
Urban area is a common English translation of the Swedish term tätort. The official term in English, used by Statistics Sweden, is, however, locality. There are 1,940 localities in Sweden . They could be compared with census-designated places in the United States.A tätort in Sweden has a minimum of...
situated in Svalöv Municipality
Svalöv Municipality
Svalöv Municipality is a municipality in Skåne County in southern Sweden. Its seat is located in the town Svalöv.The local government reform of 1952 grouped the 15 original entities into six larger municipalities...
, Skåne County
Skåne County
Skåne County is the southernmost administrative county or län, of Sweden, basically corresponding to the historical province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronoberg and Blekinge. The seat of residence for the Skåne Governor is the town of Malmö...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
with 1,644 inhabitants in 2005. It has a train station (local pågatåg trains) on the Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
- Teckomatorp - Helsingborg
Helsingborg
Helsingborg is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city...
railway line.
In 2007, the old station building in Teckomatorp was transformed to host the Tapper-Popermajer Art Gallery and the café / specialty shop TraktensMat & Café (www.traktensmat.se). Teckomatorp is located at the very center of the Swedish-Danish Øresund region and is easily accessible by car or by local trains.
The village of Teckomatorp and its surroundings will be widely renowned for a vital and exciting cultural life, and as a place that attracts visitors from far-away because of its displays of unique sculptures and other public art objects. From its bad history, Teckomatorp will rise, and a positive culture zone is born in a strategic location close to the major cities of the region. The Kulturzon is a project that wants to change people's attitudes. The project wants to "culture" a positive image of Teckomatorp - www.kulturzon.se
The BT Kemi scandal
Teckomatorp is the site of one of the largest toxic spills in Sweden. The company BT Kemi produced pesticidePesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s. During the 1970s, the inhabitants of Teckomatorp started complaining of an acrid odour from the plant that made people ill. It was also said that BT Kemi had buried barrels ot toxic waste
Toxic waste
Toxic waste is waste material that can cause death or injury to living creatures. It spreads quite easily and can contaminate lakes and rivers. The term is often used interchangeably with “hazardous waste”, or discarded material that can pose a long-term risk to health or environment.Toxic waste...
in the ground. However, the authorities did nothing for several years, despite efforts of campaigners such as Monica Nilsson, a resident of Teckomatorp, who conducted a signature campaign among the citizens. The government took steps to investigate the issue only after a former employee of BT Kemi told a newspaper that the company was entering forged values within allowed limits into its emission journals. When the authorities finally started to dig, several hundreds of barrels with toxic contents were found.
In 1979 the plant was demolished, and in 1980 the southern area around the plant itself was cleaned. Later it was discovered that the northern area of the town was also polluted, and that the southern area remained polluted despite cleanup efforts. In 2009 a project to restore nature was completed: tons of contaminated topsoil were removed, and a natural park has been established on the site of poisoned area.
Further reading
- Environmental reclaiming Teckomatorp site. Project update 22 September 2006. Visit from NORDROCKS 2006 Malmö. Lars Bevmo, Project manager, Municipality of Svalöv, Sweden http://www.renaremark.se/filarkiv/nordrocs2006/pdf/BTKemi_nordrocs2006.pdf
- The Poison plant that was blown up. The BT Kemi-scandal and establishing of the conception environmental crime. (Giftfabriken som sprängdes. BT Kemi-skandalen och miljöbrottsbegreppets etablering) Report 2002:12, Brottsförebyggande rådet, Information och förlag, Stockholm. In Swedish, with English summary in the end. http://www.bra.se/extra/measurepoint/?module_instance=4&name=02091827906.pdf&url=/dynamaster/file_archive/050121/fae3d837a680d9dfee9811c4c20350f2/02091827906.pdf