Lappeenranta imposes €50,000 fine over hazardous salt containers

Lappeenranta has ordered Elstor Oy to pay a €50,000 conditional fine for abandoning containers of environmentally hazardous salt on a groundwater protection site, Yle reports.

The containers, classified as hazardous waste, have sat on the site near Kuutostie road for three years, according to Sara Piutunen, the city’s environmental protection chief.

Originally used in a heat storage pilot at the Mustola power plant, the containers were later transferred to a now-bankrupt company operating on the site. Elstor claims it never submitted a formal agreement for the transfer to the city.

City authorities maintain Elstor remains responsible for the waste. The company disputes this, arguing the sodium nitrate salt inside is not waste but an industrially reusable material. Elstor also questions when the containers officially became waste and who holds legal ownership.

On Tuesday, the city’s environmental board imposed the fine, effective in 30 days unless the containers are removed for disposal. A day before the decision, Elstor offered to cover the estimated €30,000 cost of disposal, though it denies legal liability.

Southeastern Finland police are separately investigating the case as potential environmental pollution.