The public prosecution department said on Monday it had begun a criminal investigation into several companies based on Chemelot industrial estate in Limburg, following a string of incidents.

More than 50 companies are based at the site, near the town of Geleen.

According to local news website 1Limburg.nl, the companies are suspected of ‘not doing enough to prevent accidents and limiting the impact on people and the environment’.

In addition, officials will investigate whether or not the companies concerned are meeting the conditions of their environmental permits, the website says.

The department refused to say which companies are being investigated and the Chemelot organisation also declined to comment.

There are have been a number of incidents at the site in recent months.

Leaks

On November 5, there was a fire in an ammonia plant. In August, a leak at a factory polluted the Maas river with pyrazoles, an organic compound which is released in the making of medicines and pesticides.

In July, a Sabic chemicals factory was shut down for a period after a mysterious powder leaked into the atmosphere. In another incident, locals had to deal with an unpleasant smell because of problems with a storage tank containing the fuel naptha.