PFAS contamination from OMV refinery reaches tap water in Mannswörth

The contamination has been traced to AFFF firefighting foams used at the OMV refinery in Schwechat, which have leached PFAS, a class of persistent 'forever chemicals', into the surrounding soil. According to Global 2000, an environmental group, the compounds have migrated into multiple domestic wells in Mannswörth, where concentrations exceed 100 nanograms per litre. The chemicals are resistant to breakdown and accumulate in the human body over time.

Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, an environmental chemist at Global 2000, said a long-term health risk could not be ruled out for residents using the contaminated water. The OMV has countered with its own assessment, stating that an independent environmental-medical expertise found no acute health danger likely to materialise in the short term. The company also stressed that public water suppliers, not the refinery, are responsible for routine drinking-water monitoring and that those suppliers currently see no contamination.

OMV response: no firm deadline or cost

Responding to APA queries, OMV said further 'condensing and control measurements' were under way to delineate the contamination plume more precisely, but declined to give a firm end date for the remediation work. 'Ein fixes Abschlussdatum ist derzeit nicht seriös festzulegen', the company said. It also declined to give a total cost estimate, adding: 'Eine belastbare Gesamtkostenschätzung kann derzeit nicht genannt werden'.

OMV told APA that 'mehrere dutzend Hausbrunnen und Messpunkte', or several dozen private wells and measurement points, had been examined in its investigation programme so far, but did not provide an exact figure. Burtscher-Schaden called the company's reluctance to publish detailed analysis results 'unverständlich und verantwortungslos' despite repeated requests from affected residents and Global 2000.

Stricter limits elsewhere in Europe

PFAS limits elsewhere in Europe are far stricter than the EU-wide ceiling. Denmark allows only two nanograms per litre, while Sweden has set a sum limit of four nanograms per litre. The 19.8 nanograms found in Martin K.'s tap water is therefore roughly ten times the Danish threshold, even though it is well below the current EU rule. The discrepancy highlights how regulatory variation can leave residents in countries with looser limits exposed to higher cumulative doses over a lifetime.

Questions about possible contamination of fruit and vegetables grown in the affected gardens have also gone unanswered in general terms. OMV said such questions 'werden ernst genommen, können aber nicht pauschal beantwortet werden'. Martin K., who had hoped to use the water for his garden, told APA: 'Mir tut es weh, die Maulbeeren und Herzkirschen vergammeln zu lassen', expressing frustration at letting his mulberry and heart-cherry trees go untended.

The case has put the spotlight on legacy firefighting-foam use at major industrial sites across Europe, with environmental groups calling for faster disclosure of monitoring data and stricter cleanup obligations. Global 2000 wants OMV to release the underlying measurement series in full so independent experts can assess exposure. OMV has so far said only that the additional measurements are continuing.

What happens next

For residents of Mannswörth, the immediate question is whether the public supply, which feeds most households, remains uncontaminated. OMV has pointed to the municipal water providers as the responsible authorities and said they currently see no contamination. Whether the plume has reached the wider network, however, is precisely what the additional measurements now being carried out are meant to establish.

The longer-term outlook depends on how quickly the source can be contained. PFAS compounds bind to soil and groundwater and are exceptionally difficult to remove, often requiring long-term filtration or activated-carbon treatment. Until OMV defines a remediation timeline and a cost figure, residents and environmental advocates say they will continue to press for full disclosure and tighter protective measures.