After an increased concentration of industrial chemicals PFAS, which can cause cancer or liver damage, was found in the groundwater at three measuring points in Leonding and Pasching in Upper Austria, the state water regulator is still looking for the cause. Department head Daniela König made it clear on Thursday that it is not a “classic environmental crime” and that “a question of blame is not possible”.
On December 23, the municipality of Leonding received a message from the drinking water regulator that values from wells were abnormal. Affected households were given an agreement not to drink the water from their systems. Since December 29, the voluntary fire brigade has been providing these households with drinking water. Discussions are currently underway as to whether the affected households should be connected to the public drinking water supply in the future.
One million euros for water supply
Digging water pipes would cost the community about a million euros. An official closure of the wells is not possible because there is (yet) no legal basis for this. Environmental councilor Stefan Kaineder (Greens) expects that the implementation of a corresponding EU directive in the national drinking water regulation with a presumed limit value of 0.1 μg/l will come this year.
Two measurement points above limit
This limit was exceeded at the measurement points in Leonding and one in Pasching. As part of a nationwide, Austria-wide study into PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), groundwater samples were taken at 279 locations in Upper Austria last year. A concentration of 0.05 μg/l was found at seven measuring points and more than 0.1 μg/l at two measuring points in Leonding.
Monsters around airport not noticeable
As a result, the country started a special measurement program in the affected area from November. This resulted in significant PFAS contamination of all domestic wells tested in the Staudach and Felling districts of Leonding. The often cited possible cause of the pollution, Hörsching Airport, is ruled out from the current perspective. It was suspected that the fire-fighting foam used there for years, which has since been banned, could have ended up in the groundwater. However, samples around the airport showed no increased concentration of PFAS.
Difficult search for perpetrator
In principle, the search for the polluter is difficult, because PFAS have been used for decades in the most diverse industries, said the State Councilor. The chemical is used, for example, to coat outdoor clothing, ski wax or baking paper, he cited examples.
Source: Krone
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