Toxic waste dump near NATO fighter base in Poland threatens to ground aircraft

In brief

• An illegal hazardous waste dump in Ryczołek, about 7 km from the 23rd Tactical Aviation Base, could halt flying if it catches fire.
• Around 6,500 containers of flammable substances are stored there, some leaking, with little security.
• The National Security Bureau has asked the government for a removal plan, which the Defence Ministry estimates at 80–120 million zloty.

Illegal dump close to a key air base

About 6,500 containers of flammable substances are stored at an unauthorised site in Ryczołek, in Mazovia, roughly 7 km from the 23rd Tactical Aviation Base near Mińsk Mazowiecki (Tykająca bomba ekologiczna na Mazowszu. Szef BBN zażąda działań od rządu – Gazeta) (Tysiące pojemników z chemikaliami kilka kilometrów od bazy myśliwców. Prezydent i BBN reagują – Zero.pl) (Chemikalia w pobliżu bazy myśliwców. Pałac Prezydencki reaguje – Onet). Some barrels are leaking or tipped over, and the grounds are not properly guarded. Access is possible without any difficulty.

Risks to the base and the region

A fire at the site could force the base to stop flying operations, damage national road No. 92 and pollute several rivers, including the Bug (Kluczowa baza lotnicza NATO w Polsce zagrożona. Składowisko chemikaliów może unieruchomić samoloty – WNP.pl). The base is part of NATO's eastern flank, which is why the threat is treated as a security matter and not only an environmental one. Experts from the State Fire Service Academy assessed the risk of a fire as very high.

Response from the presidential office

Bartosz Grodecki, head of the National Security Bureau, said the situation is a state security problem in a period of sabotage and hybrid threats. On behalf of President Karol Nawrocki, he will ask the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Climate and Environment for a plan to secure the site and remove the waste quickly. The bureau wants the government to name who is responsible, where the money will come from and by when the land will be cleared.

Estimated cost

The Ministry of National Defence estimates the removal will cost between 80 and 120 million zloty. According to Grodecki, there is no mechanism that would share that cost with other bodies.

Owner's position

The owner of the land where the dump sits has said there is nothing to discuss.