Contaminated plots removed from sale in Kaarina after toxic soil reports
Plots of land in Kaarina’s Harvaluoto district have been withdrawn from sale following a report by Finnish public broadcaster Yle that revealed the soil was contaminated with hazardous substances from a former sawmill, according to Yle.
The plots, located in the Sahannokka area, were pulled from online listings after Yle reported last week that dozens of buyers had purchased recreational shorefront properties without being informed of the toxic contamination. At the time of publication, two plots remained for sale, but they were removed by Thursday.
Some buyers told Yle they were never notified of the hazardous substances—including dioxins and furans—in the soil, which stem from sawmill operations that ceased in the 1980s. The contamination was not disclosed in sales listings or mentioned in all purchase agreements; Yle reviewed contracts from two buyers.
The seller, a professional real estate agent who sold the plots as a private individual, declined to comment when contacted by Yle. Kaarina city authorities have since imposed a construction and activity ban on the area and demanded that owners dismantle any structures built on the contaminated plots.
Expert: Seller’s actions “irresponsible”
Tuomas Viljamaa, CEO of the Central Federation of Finnish Real Estate Agencies, called the seller’s failure to disclose the contamination “completely irresponsible and questionable,” particularly given the seller’s professional background. Finnish law requires both sellers and agents to provide all available information about a property, including environmental hazards.
“Based on the information, it seems the buyer would have grounds to challenge the sale,” Viljamaa said. If an agency had been involved, it too would bear responsibility.
While buyers also have a duty to investigate, Viljamaa noted that uncovering such contamination is beyond typical due diligence. “If a private sale seems too good to be true, it’s worth verifying the details—but ideally, that shouldn’t be necessary.”
Hundreds of contaminated sawmill sites across Finland
Harvaluoto’s sawmill, operational until the 1980s, left behind toxic wood-preservation chemicals like KY-5, a bluestain preventative banned in Finland in 1988. A 2010 soil study confirmed the contamination, but Kaarina plans further testing during an upcoming partial master plan revision.
Yle’s investigation found at least 100 similar contaminated sawmill sites nationwide, with another 200 already remediated or deemed non-hazardous under current land use. Jussi Reinikainen, a senior researcher at the Finnish Environment Institute, said many defunct sawmills were never cleaned up due to weak historical regulations.
“Back then, contamination wasn’t adequately addressed in legislation, and there were no cleanup obligations,” Reinikainen explained. Unknowingly purchasing polluted land, he added, “isn’t entirely uncommon.”