Poison spreads

Styrene leak causes a race against time

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

At the end of September, a freight train ran over at the shunting yard in Wels. The poison leaked into the ground and some local residents can no longer sleep peacefully.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

The train derailment in September last year is worrying more and more people in Wels. 40,000 liters of toxic hydrocarbon leaked into the ground. Every day, the poison spreads 15 meters and travels further east, where many houses have their own wells. A specialist company has so far only filtered out 20 percent of the poison. 

Exactly 179 days after the derailment of a freight train carrying hazardous poison, the first information event for local residents took place in Wels yesterday, Tuesday. "Far too late" was the tenor of the visibly unsettled residents of the Pernau district. They had expected clear words from ÖBB and the municipal authorities much sooner. What they heard did not allow them to sleep much more soundly.

40,000 liters of toxic styrene leaked during the accident on 29 September. Only a fifth has been cleaned up so far, apparently because it was not only the local residents who were informed too late. Representatives of ÖBB and the water authority met for the first meeting four days after the accident (with a weekend in between).

The poison spreads 15 meters further to the east every day.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Alfred Fritsch (top) from the company Intergeo has been fighting the spread of the poison for months.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Bernhard Humer (left) and Georg Parzmayr from the local council are also concerned about the contaminated groundwater.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Many local residents criticize the hesitant information policy of the municipal authorities and ÖBB.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Huge filter systems were built in Pernau.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

It is obvious that the toxic hydrocarbon spreads quickly and that the subsoil in the Pernau is very permeable to water. Intergeo, the company commissioned to clean up the damage, lost valuable days. For Alfred Fritsch (Intergeo), it is now a race against time: "The poison, which is particularly dangerous when inhaled, spreads by 15 meters per day. Unfortunately, the styrene has not only leaked into the groundwater, but also into the soil."

The uncertainty is great. Marchtrenk may soon be affected too. The poison spread very rapidly between December and March, which worries me.

Alexander Zehetner aus Marchtrenk

The biggest problem is that the sweet-smelling poison is moving towards the east of the city. While almost all houses in the area around the accident site are connected to the uncontaminated local water supply, there are many properties with their own wells. A kind of protective shield has been erected for them.

I'm annoyed that we weren't told anything for a long time after the train accident in September. Now I'm suddenly told that I'm not allowed to use water to fill the pool.

Brigitte Ornetzeder, Anrainerin aus Wels

Emergency water supply set up
Eleven pumps are working at full speed to contain the spread of the poison. An emergency water supply was set up in Pernau as a preventative measure. "We are constantly taking measurements, constantly gaining new insights and constantly implementing new measures," emphasizes Fritsch.