In a quarry, significant quantities of hydrocarbons leaked from an underground tank (7,500 litres) polluting the WESSERGRABEN and EHN rivers. The residents, on detecting the smell, informed the fire-fighters who installed dams to contain the fuel spill. The operator sent earthmoving machines to create a small retention tank to pump out the fuel. The tank was emptied and 1,000 litres of fuel was recovered in 4 hours. Legal proceedings were instituted on account of the damage caused to benthic fauna, hydrocarbon deposits on aquatic flora, degradation of river banks and iridescence of the waters. The pollution may have resulted due to the corrosion of the tank.