After an accident on the TU research campus: Up to 5000 liters of kerosene seeped into the groundwater - Kripo determined

People in Garching don't have to worry about the quality of the drinking water, says a water expert.

The exact circumstances of the accident are still unclear.

Garching - The kerosene that leaked on the research campus in Garching has flowed into the soil and groundwater.

This was confirmed by the water management office on Wednesday afternoon.

On Tuesday it became known that up to 5000 liters of kerosene had leaked from a defective pump.

The people in Garching don't have to worry about the quality of the drinking water, says a water expert.

The state building authority carried out six boreholes today, up to five meters deep, reported Christian Leeb from the water management authority.

"It is becoming apparent that the soil and the groundwater are polluted," he said.

One of the groundwater samples clearly smelled of kerosene.

The expert does not yet know how high the kerosene concentration is in the groundwater and how the contaminated water has spread.

More drilling tomorrow

The soil and water samples are now sent to a laboratory for evaluation.

First results are expected for tomorrow.

There should also be further drilling on Thursday.

The samples should show how far the contaminated water has flowed.

According to information from Münchner Merkur, the leak must have occurred on Saturday.

The defective pump is located in an open adjoining building of the research area “Flight Propulsion”.

An external company had renewed a pumping station on behalf of the state building authority that pumps kerosene from a tank into a laboratory building with turbine test stands.

The fuel is needed by scientists in drive research

The fuel is needed by scientists in drive research.

A TU employee only discovered the leak on Monday.

The external company then stopped the exit.

The leaked kerosene entered the ground via the building walls.

Those involved could now be “lucky in disaster”, said Christian Leeb: Between the TU campus and the Isar, the U6 railway tunnel is at groundwater level. So-called culverts divert the groundwater under the tunnel.

“If the kerosene ran there, it could be collected there,” says Leeb.

There is no need to worry about the quality of the drinking water.

What the environmental accident means for the flora and fauna has not yet been clarified.

The Munich Kripo determined

The Munich criminal investigation agency is investigating. She tries to find out how the accident came about. It is also unclear why the district office, as the responsible authority, was only alerted on Tuesday afternoon. The earth in front of the outbuilding must now be dug up. “There's no other option,” said TU spokesman Andreas Battenberg. He is now hoping for the time factor and that as little kerosene as possible will get through the sand layers into the groundwater.