The Zelling area is the result of the raising work and dumping of waste and industrial residues from the shallow section of the river midway through the 1900s. In the 1980s, environmental awareness began to increase in the Netherlands as a result of the ‘Lekkerkerk’ scandal. At the time, it also emerged that the Zelling area was severely contaminated as a result of the dumping of waste, primarily containing mineral oil and pesticides.