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- Mar 26, 2007
Brabant cleans up contaminated soil of Allied pipeline in Gerwen
In Gerwen (municipality of Nuenen), the province of Noord-Brabant will have soil contaminated with kerosene cleaned up in the near future. A thick layer of mineral oil has been found on the groundwater in the gardens of homes. Provincial executive Hagar Roijackers (environment) calls it a "historical contamination" originating from the temporary pipeline that was built during the Second World War to supply the Allies with fuel.
This so-called Pluto pipeline (Pipe-Lines Under The Ocean) went underwater from England to France. The pipeline came above ground near Gerwen. When a well was dug in a resident's garden in 2019, a petrol smell suddenly hung in the air and the contamination came to light. How exactly it came about is unknown. "It was a war situation at the time. We don't know exactly what happened. Was there a porous spot, was it tapped or was there a leak," says Roijackers, who describes that a kind of "kerosene bubble" had formed.
The €1.5 million remediation involves digging to a depth of 4.5 metres. This is done deliberately in the spring, when it is still a bit colder and people are indoors more often than in the summer. This is an attempt to prevent complaints, because if soil containing kerosene comes to the surface, it starts to stink.
Later this year, the contaminated groundwater will be pumped up. The thick floating layer of kerosene on the groundwater will be sucked away. After the groundwater has been purified in a special installation, it will be returned to the ground. Alderman Sander Löwick (Nuenen) is pleased that the contamination is being cleaned up. But he sees that the work has a great impact on residents. "They see their garden being dug up by several meters and some are going to live elsewhere for a few months." The remediation should be completed this fall and residents should be able to redesign their gardens on clean soil.
In Gerwen (municipality of Nuenen), the province of Noord-Brabant will have soil contaminated with kerosene cleaned up in the near future. A thick layer of mineral oil has been found on the groundwater in the gardens of homes. Provincial executive Hagar Roijackers (environment) calls it a "historical contamination" originating from the temporary pipeline that was built during the Second World War to supply the Allies with fuel.
This so-called Pluto pipeline (Pipe-Lines Under The Ocean) went underwater from England to France. The pipeline came above ground near Gerwen. When a well was dug in a resident's garden in 2019, a petrol smell suddenly hung in the air and the contamination came to light. How exactly it came about is unknown. "It was a war situation at the time. We don't know exactly what happened. Was there a porous spot, was it tapped or was there a leak," says Roijackers, who describes that a kind of "kerosene bubble" had formed.
The €1.5 million remediation involves digging to a depth of 4.5 metres. This is done deliberately in the spring, when it is still a bit colder and people are indoors more often than in the summer. This is an attempt to prevent complaints, because if soil containing kerosene comes to the surface, it starts to stink.
Later this year, the contaminated groundwater will be pumped up. The thick floating layer of kerosene on the groundwater will be sucked away. After the groundwater has been purified in a special installation, it will be returned to the ground. Alderman Sander Löwick (Nuenen) is pleased that the contamination is being cleaned up. But he sees that the work has a great impact on residents. "They see their garden being dug up by several meters and some are going to live elsewhere for a few months." The remediation should be completed this fall and residents should be able to redesign their gardens on clean soil.
