Reykjanesbær town council wishes to completely shut down the United Silicon factory while work is underway on fixing its pollution issue. United Silicon’s board of control, however, claims that closing the factory wouldn’t help in figuring out the cause behind the smell and discomfort found in the emissions. RÚV reports.
In November last year, the United Silicon metal smelter became a hot topic in Iceland after residents of Reykjanesbær filed dozens of complaints of pollution.
Reports continued, with a video showing dust being released from the building in the middle of the night, and the factory was closed down this spring in order to investigate the pollution. After problems arose from the factory’s closure, its activities were resumed in a minimal capacity.
According to a statement from the board of United Silicon, first results show that the emissions don’t pose any health threats and that by continuing analyzation of the emission, there is a better chance at figuring out the cause of the discomfort and developing a method to prevent it. The board claims that completely shutting down the factory now would create complete uncertainty for further research, future operations, employees, and creditors.
