Abstract

The clean-up of the abandoned polluted area of the former gas works at Munich Moosach repre-sents one of the most complicated remediation projects ever undertaken in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Resulting from intensive industrial use over almost eight decades, serious contamination of an area of some 32 ha was found in the 1980s, whereby polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), tar and tar oil had to be dealt with as the principal problem substances.

At an early stage, exploration of the site revealed that the tried and tested environmental engineering methods of the day were not sufficient to overcome the damage and recover the site for further use. For this reason, the work was financially supported as a research project by the then Federal Minis-ter for Research and Technology (BMFT) in the early 1990s, under the title ‘Model remediation of abandoned polluted areas using the site of the gas supply utility in Munich as an example’. As a result of extensive work involving large-scale experiments throughout Europe, important knowledge was obtained with regard to remediation techniques and chemical analytical aspects.3 Building on this experience, the site was gradually recovered and brought into reuse in a process lasting over 15 years.

Keywords:activated carbon container, contaminated groundwater, Funnel-and-Gate, gasworks, horizontal filter well, hydraulic modeling, impervious wall, PAHs, sheet piling, tar, tar oil