Context
The Umicore site in Hoboken has its origins in 1887. The German companies Metallgesellschaft and Degussa then founded the Société Générale Metallurgique along the banks of the Scheldt to extract silver from concentrates and by-products of lead ore. With the further industrial development of the area in the 19th and 20th centuries, the arrival of shipyards and other factories, housing also developed, often in the vicinity of industry at the time.
The site and the neighbourhood have therefore grown closer and closer to each other, to a point where the residential area and the site were adjacent to each other except for a few metres. These houses in Curiestraat, north of the factory site, date from 1958.
The Umicore site aims to limit the impact of our activities on the neighbourhood as much as possible, not only with ongoing environmental measures, but also with the creation of a green zone. This forest area is a structural and sustainable measure to create distance between the adjacent residential area and the factory site. The influence of the site on the neighbourhood is greatest in the nearby streets: the semi-annual lead-in-blood measurements show that the children who live closest to the site have higher lead-in-blood values on average than the children further away.
In order to be able to realize the green zone, Umicore has offered all residents who live closest, in zone 1, to buy their homes. This offer has been running since the end of 2020. Residents with children up to the age of 12 in zone 2, a little further away from the site, could offer their houses for sale until the end of 2021. Almost all residents have accepted the offer: in zone 1, 186 homes, or more than 97%, were sold to Umicore and in zone 2 this applies to almost 100 homes. Umicore has supported the residents individually as much as possible in what is involved in the sale and purchase of houses.
The start of the work is an important moment for the former residents of the houses that are being demolished and for the neighborhood as a whole. The disappearance of the houses this year and the future green zone, together with a new connecting road between Hoboken and Hemiksem, will drastically change the appearance of the Moretusburg district.
The green zone will cover approximately 6 hectares. Of this, 1 hectare of forest was created on our site in the spring of 2021, and approximately 5 hectares of adjacent, enclosed forest, in zone 1 between the factory site and the adjacent streets, will be created in 2024.
First concrete step in the construction of the green zone – demolition in two phases
After about two years of preparation, the green zone project is now becoming concrete. The first step in the future construction of the forest area will start on Monday 8 May with the phased demolition of a total of 186 homes. The contractor will start by demolishing 17 homes. Umicore received a permit for this from the College of Mayor and Aldermen in Antwerp last March. The works are expected to take a maximum of 1 month. The demolition of the other 169 homes in zone 1 will follow in the autumn.
The reason for this phased approach is that Umicore and the contractor want to learn as much as possible from the demolition of the first 17 homes. In this way, we can make the second phase of the demolition of the remaining homes as good, efficient and safe as possible for the local residents.
Safety on and around the site and adapted traffic situation
In the interest of safety, the site is not accessible to third parties. Trucks and construction vehicles will drive back and forth.
The works will therefore also change the traffic situation in the area. The contractor will provide the necessary signage in the streets concerned. Together with the contractor, we want to limit traffic disruption as much as possible.
Dust control measures during demolition works
The contractor will take precautions to limit the formation and spread of dust in the environment as much as possible. For example, work only takes place at low wind speeds. During the works, we will monitor the effect of these measures with the most precise techniques and make adjustments if necessary.
We made the following agreements with the contractor, among others:
- The fences around the construction zone are equipped with dust screens
- Before a house is demolished, it is sprayed with water
- During the works, we will deploy fog cannon(s) that will precipitate the dust by means of moisture
- The monitoring of dust is done with very accurate equipment and via our own measuring stations in the area
- The rubble and demolition materials are removed in covered trucks
- Sweeper trucks clean and water the affected streets at the end of each working day (Monday to Friday)
More information about the green zone – independent research
An independent study by research agency Arcadis, in early 2022, showed that the construction of a green zone north of the factory site – between Curiestraat and Achturendagstraat – can contribute to lower residents' exposure to blowing dust. The positive effect of the green zone is therefore in the effect created by increasing the distance, rather than a filtering effect by the planted vegetation. The influence of such a vegetation buffer depends on various factors such as the method of design and the type of vegetation.
Environmental improvement measures – Decreasing trend in lead-in-blood levels
Through constant research, development and application of new technologies and in collaboration with experts and governments, we have implemented numerous measures for cleaner air, efficient and sustainable use of water and the limitation and prevention of noise pollution. The positive consequences are reflected in the semi-annual lead-in-blood results that show a downward trend and reached their lowest level ever measured last autumn.
The site remains committed to and invested in achieving the best possible results.
The most recent examples of dust reduction measures on the factory site are six-metre-high windscreens around the storage sites along the Scheldt. In addition, windbreaks will be placed along the river, over a length of 220 meters and a height of six meters. The windscreens reduce the wind force on the site and thus the blowing up and spreading of dust on the site and in the neighbourhood. The wind force is also monitored with the wind barometer, which indicates whether some logistics and production activities need to be postponed or stopped. Since the commissioning of the wind barometer on the site in January 2021, the activities have been adapted to the wind speed more than 60 times.
A changing neighbourhood – connecting road
Not only the disappearance of the houses this year and the future green zone, but also a new connecting road, which will connect the district with Hemiksem, will radically change the Moretusburg district. This public road with a separate cycle path replaces the Adolf Greinerstraat, which now crosses the Umicore factory site in Hoboken, and will be built on the factory site, next to the future green zone. The Adolf Greinerstraat will then no longer be a public road, but will be part of the factory site. The project benefits the road safety of all road users in both the area and the site itself. The works are planned for 2024.
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