Some of the production sites that LANXESS took over when the company was set up have been manufacturing chemical products for more than 140 years. The Merebank site in South Africa is a case in point. Here in 2004, hexavalent chrome, which was associated with much earlier production activities at the plant, was discovered in groundwater outside the site.

Since then LANXESS has made every effort to eliminate damage as effectively as possible and avoid future contamination. It is, after all, part of LANXESS’s corporate commitment to even assume responsibility for possible contamination that occurred before LANXESS was established.

Milestone in groundwater remediation
To clean the groundwater at the Merebank site, LANXESS commissioned a groundwater extraction facility in 2008. This system pumps groundwater contaminated with chrome from the affected area into the site, where it is used as process water in production processes. Since then, more than 27,200 m³ of groundwater has been cleaned. The clean-up concept was developed and implemented in accordance with internationally recognized methods and LANXESS’s commitment to Responsible Care.

Dialogue for achieving maximum safety
The safety of Merebank’s residents is the first and foremost concern in all activities. The success of the operation was due in no small part to a team put together at LANXESS’s initiative in 2004 involving representatives from local, regional and supraregional authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Merebank residents’ initiative, interested and affected parties and LANXESS employees.