Container set up

The family displaced by the poison moved into the garden

In the Pernau district of Wels, huge filter systems have been installed in a number of gardens.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

After a long time, there are finally the first positive reports in Wels about the styrene spill in the fall of last year. The pollutant plume is receding. For the three unlucky people who had to move out of their house, this is little consolation. They are now building themselves a new emergency shelter.

After many setbacks, there are now the first reports of success regarding the groundwater drama in Wels. For the first time since the train accident on September 29...., the plume of pollutants is likely to recede. As reported, 40,000 liters of styrene leaked from an overturned wagon in the marshalling yard. The chemical "moved" around 15 meters further east per day.

Relocated to a hotel
A family on Kamerlweg was hit particularly hard. They were doubly unlucky. Both the well and the attached water heat pump are not outdoors, but in the basement of the house. This meant that the foul-smelling and unhealthy poison could hardly evaporate. The family of three moved into a hotel, but soon longed for their own four walls again. These are to be a temporary container parked in the garden.

However, it will be a few more days before they can return to their own home. At least the latest results of the styrene samples sound positive. They show that the contaminant plume in the groundwater is receding towards the west and is also slowly narrowing from the north and south. According to the commissioned remediation company Intergeo, styrene levels exceeding the limit value can no longer be measured east of the line at Uhlandstrasse 35.

ÖBB must provide rapid and unbureaucratic assistance in the event of damage or future damage.

Gerhard Kroiß, FPÖ-Vizebürgermeister

The Deputy Mayor of Wels, Gerhard Kroiß (FP), himself an affected resident, is also relieved. When asked about the issue of liability, he states unequivocally: "ÖBB must help quickly and unbureaucratically with any damage that has occurred to date or will occur in the future."