On Friday, June 5, a specialized chemical response unit from Warsaw intervened in Garwolin after a corrosive substance leaked from a pipe into a drainage ditch near a site holding hazardous waste.
Emergency Response and Containment
Firefighters were dispatched to Garwolin shortly after 8:00 PM on Friday, June 5, following reports of a corrosive substance in a drainage ditch. The leak originated from a pipe draining a property on Brukarska Street, a site where hazardous chemical waste has been stored for several years.
Operations were centered near Stacyjna Street, where the specialized chemical rescue unit from Warsaw’s Fire and Rescue Unit No. 6 set up containment barriers to prevent the contaminated water from reaching the Wilga River. The incident was brought under control by 11:00 PM after a plumber sealed the discharge pipe.
A Recurring Hazardous Waste Crisis
The site on Brukarska Street contains approximately 338 containers of technical-grade sulfuric acid. Despite administrative orders issued in 2022 and 2023 for the owners to remove the waste, the process remains stalled due to pending legal appeals.
The city’s 2024 report confirms that the matter is under investigation by the prosecutor’s office, which has filed an indictment against an organized crime group involved in illegal waste dumping nationwide. Provincial environmental inspectors and firefighters have conducted multiple inspections throughout 2024 to monitor the integrity of the containers.
Ongoing Environmental Risks
This is not the first emergency intervention at the site. Previous incidents include a September 2024 operation to transfer hazardous liquids from damaged containers and an August 2025 response to a leaking tank containing concentrated acid.
Garwolin has sought state funding for the cleanup of these materials, which were first identified in March 2021. However, the site was not included in the initial list of priority locations for state-funded removal, leaving the area under a persistent state of emergency monitoring.