Remediation of long-standing encumbrances

The former coking plant was nearly destroyed by bombs dropped during the Second World War. The soil under and surrounding the plant was consequentially contaminated. The areas will be cleaned up in the course of a remediation project, the likes of which have rarely been seen in Austria.

The first major steps have been taken, and the location secured. Further contamination has been prevented by the measures already taken. Work activities planned over ten years and intended to completely replace the contaminated soil have been underway since June of 2012.

Successful completion of the first phase was a recent milestone in the project. The funnel and gate system has now been implemented to clean the contaminated area.

Funnel-and-gate system A sealing wall has been installed along the northern perimeter of the contaminated area. The sealed-off surface area is roughly 21,000 m². The 1650 meter-long sealing wall is equipped with twelve openings (the so-called gates) that are filled with activated carbon. The ground water that flows through the gates at a rate of approximately 5000 m³ per day is cleaned by the activated carbon. The carbon must be exchanged regularly.

The project will continue for several years before the area of the coking plant, which was bombarded during the war, will finally be clean.