Ammunition sinking in Swiss lakes

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Ammunition sinking in Lake Thun and Lake Brienz
Ammunition sinking in Lake Lucerne

In the 1940s to 1960s, the Swiss army and private companies sank large amounts of unneeded ammunition in Lake Thun , Lake Brienz , Lake Lucerne and Lake Geneva . Their further storage was no longer considered safe after explosion accidents such as in Mitholz in 1947 . In 2012, the federal authorities decided not to recover and dispose of this ammunition, as it posed no danger to humans or the environment, whereas recovery would be dangerous and costly.

Sinkings

An army report from 2004 summarized the sinkings as follows:

  • Based on a decision by the Federal Council, the army sank 2,500 tons of artillery ammunition (176,000 rounds) in Lakes Thun, Brienz and Vierwaldstättersee between May 1948 and spring 1949. These were surplus stocks from the Second World War , the further storage of which was deemed too dangerous after explosion accidents in Dailly (May 1946) and Mitholz (December 1947). In 1948 and 1949, around 1,500 tons of residues from the exploded Mitholz camp were also dumped in Lake Thun.
  • The federal ammunition factories in Thun and Altdorf sank production residues, faulty batches and old ammunition in the nearby lakes until the 1960s.
  • In the 1940s to 1960s, the army sank small amounts of weapons, ammunition and other material in several Swiss lakes ( around a tonne of German machine guns in 1951 in Walensee ). In addition, duds and ammunition used in exercises are suspected in many lakes .
  • Munitions were also sunk by private companies.

In 2019 it became known that private companies also sank between 150 and 1,000 tons of ammunition in Lake Geneva.

Overall, the following larger ammunition deposits exist:

lake Canton (s) area amount
Lake Thun Bern Merligen , Beatenbucht , Balmholz approx. 4'600 t
Lake Brienz Bern Nase (bay in the south-eastern part of the lake), Bönigen , Oberried approx. 280 t
Lake Lucerne ( Urnersee ) Uri, Schwyz Axenwand , Bauen-Sisikon , Isleten , Bolzbach , Rütli approx. 2,800 t
Lake Lucerne ( Gersau Basin) Schwyz, Nidwalden between Gersau and Emmetten approx. 530 t
Lake Geneva Geneva, Vaud unknown 150 to 1,000 t

Investigations and the question of salvage

Between 2006 and 2010, the federal authorities investigated the effects of the sunk ammunition and the question of their recovery. They found that the ammunition was now 25 cm to 2 m below the sea floor because it was covered by deposits. Individual projectiles salvaged on a trial basis were in practically new condition.

In February 2012, the army announced that in consultation with the cantons concerned, the ammunition would not be recovered or disposed of. Analyzes of the sea deposits and the sea water would have provided no evidence of pollutants that could be traced back to the sunk ammunition. Rescue is problematic, as there are no tried and tested technologies and the rescue would involve the risk of explosion and extensive closures of the lakes. The sunk ammunition is regularly monitored.

Film recordings made by a French environmental protection organization in autumn 2019 showed further ammunition stocks on the bottom of Lake Geneva . The boxes are partly open on the lake bed and their contents are exposed; the ammunition is not, as previously suspected, covered by a layer of sediment . An accumulation of ammunition was found at a depth of 50 meters, around 150 meters from a gas pipe and a drinking water extraction point. The federal government and the canton of Geneva will discuss how to proceed in 2020.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Swiss army ammunition remains in lakes In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of February 3, 2012
  2. ↑ Historical investigations into deposits and munitions sinking in Swiss lakes , report of November 5, 2004, in: Historical investigations into deposits and ammunition sinking in Swiss lakes - summary , website of the DDPS, accessed on February 3, 2012
  3. ↑ a b Swiss Federal Council: Answer to interpellation 19.4396, Dangerous ammunition in Lake Geneva. What is the federal government doing? February 12, 2020, accessed March 8, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b No recovery of sunk ammunition from foothills of the Alps , DDPS press release of February 3, 2012
  5. ↑ Antonio Fumagalli: Open ammunition in Lake Geneva: What to do with the explosive legacy? In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . March 2, 2020 ( nzz.ch [accessed March 8, 2020]).
  6. ↑ Divers discover open ammunition boxes in Lake Geneva: Now the federal government and canton are examining how to deal with them In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of March 2, 2020