The city of Winterthur’s data center in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, has been contaminated with fine particles of plaster and paint, significantly delaying a planned data center migration effort.

As reported by local publications, including Tages Anzeiger (TA), employees of the Winterthur IT department discovered that the city’s servers, storage systems, and cables in its secondary data center were all covered in a white powder.

The powder was tested and found to be plaster and paint, which, while not harmful to humans, is a significant problem for IT hardware.

The powder was said to have entered the system’s fans, heat sinks, and memory elements. City council minutes from an early July meeting noted: . “Due to the unknown properties of the powder, there is a risk of system failures or gradual defects at any time,” and described the situation as “very critical.”

The data center holds data for around 60 offices, businesses, and schools.

The data center in Schaffhausen is the city of Winterthur’s secondary data center, with its primary facility located in Winterthur proper. The city has been planning to migrate out of the Informatik Schaffhausen data center, which is operated by Equans Services AG, to another data center in Frauenfeld. This has now been postponed due to the current situation.

DCD has contacted Informatik Schaffhausen for information about how the paint and plaster infiltrated the data center.

TA reports that Winterthur’s lease on the new data center owned by Thurgau Cantonal Energy Company began on April 1, but the move is now expected to take place in late summer or towards the end of 2025. The estimated total costs of damage are around $3.13 million, including the extended lease and operation in Schaffhausen, and the replacement of storage equipment.

According to Informatik Schaffhausen’s website, the company offers “comprehensive IT services in the field of eGovernment at the cantonal and municipal levels” from two data centers in Schaffhausen. They also host data for the city of Schaffhausen.

Details about the data centers, including size and location, have not been shared.

The majority of Switzerland’s data centers are located in Zurich, with a secondary hub in Lucerne. Winterthur is located just northeast of Zurich, with Schaffhausen north of Winterthur.

Operators, including Digital Realty, nLighten, NTT, and Equinix, have a presence in the country.