British actor Jeremy Irons traveled to Ísafjördur in the Icelandic West Fjords last weekend along with a crew from the production company Blenheim Films, which is making a documentary on pollution. Irons is the film’s narrator.
Jeremy Irons. Source: Wikipedia.
The outgoing editor of Iceland Review’s print edition, Bjarni Brynjólfsson, served as an assistant to the crew. He said the filmmakers learned of the dioxin pollution caused by the waste burning station Funi in Ísafjördur and wanted to include it in the documentary.
The project is international and covers problems caused by pollution all around the world. Brynjólfsson told Morgunbladid Irons had not wanted to give any interviews during his stay in Iceland. He leaves today.
According to ruv.is, Steingrímur Jónsson, farmer at Engidalur, a nearby farm, has now decided to slaughter all of his livestock because of the dioxin pollution.
Jónsson is being barred from selling his products because the dioxin level in meat and milk from the farm is above the health protection limit. He is discussing his right to damages with city authorities and the Ministry of Agriculture.
The waste burning station in Ísafjördur has now been closed and people who might have been subject to dioxin pollution are being tested, Fréttabladid reports.
Blood samples and one breast milk sample were taken from around 20 people who live in the vicinity of Ísafjördur and now reference samples from other Ísafjördur residents as well as from people in Reykjavík will be taken for comparison.
The results are expected in five to six weeks.
Click here to read more about dioxin pollution from waste burning stations in Iceland.
