Photo-report of my hiking trips through the Volgermeerpolder near the village of Broek in Waterland. Untill 1981 this site was used to dump all kinds of chemical waste.
During my Environmental study at the Hogeschool Alkmaar in 1990 I got interested in these sites.
In the past, the company Philips-Duphar (now Solvay) produced the well-known defoliant Agent Orange, which was used by in Vietname by the Americans to strip leaves of plants and trees. Synthesis of the chemical compound in their plant in the Amsterdam harbor also yielded some extremely toxic byproducts (dixones among others), which were packed in vessels en dumped at sites like the Volgermeerpolder.
Sites like this really interest me, especially this one that has been closed for the public for decades.
It was a pleasure to read the new book about the Volgermeerpolder. Unfortunately, the site is being contained now, so there won't be much left of it's beauty in the future.