Switzerland’s Defense Department is offering $57,800 (50,000 Swiss francs) to whoever can figure out how to retrieve old munitions submerged in its waters. It appears that beneath the country’s serene lakes, including Lake Lucerne, Brienz, and Thun, lies about 12,000 tonnes of hidden and potentially dangerous munitions discarded by the Swiss military over the past century.
Now, in a bid to address this issue, the Swiss government is offering the prize money to anyone who can develop a safe and effective way of removing the ordinance.
Understanding Switzerland's Buried History
From 1918 to 1964, and possibly even as recently as 2021, the Swiss military reportedly sank munitions into some of the country’s lakes as a method of disposal. While this solution may have appeared convenient at the time, turning the water bodies into Swiss munition dumping grounds would eventually leave a dangerous legacy.
As these munitions age, they pose a risk of potentially leaking harmful substances into the water or even detonating unexpectedly. This is particularly problematic, considering that these munitions are located in lakes that are popular tourist destinations and even sources of drinking water.
The potential damage to the environment as well as humans, has prompted the Swiss government to launch a competition targeted at innovative and environmentally friendly ways to safely remove the munitions.
The Tricky Part of the Waves
One might think the solution to the problem is linear, but it is a bit more complex. There are dangers on both sides of the coin.
On one hand, leaving these old munitions where they are is significant pollution. Experts warn that as time goes on, the risk of these munitions causing harm increases. Chemical compounds like TNT become toxic with age, and metal degradation also occurs, affecting the water, animals and humans.
But on the other hand, removing these munitions might even be more dangerous than leaving them undisturbed. Experts also allege that moving the munitions to the surface to get rid of them could spread their toxins much farther and quicker. There is also the “potentially explosive” part of the equation.
All of this nuance is why the Swiss government is looking for the best minds to come up with a comprehensive solution. The Swiss defense department has emphasized that proposed solutions must carefully consider safety and environmental protection.
Testing the Waters for a Solution
The competition, which ends next February, calls for engineers, scientists, and innovators to submit their ideas. A panel of experts will anonymously evaluate the proposals, and three winners will eventually be announced later in April. After the announcement, there is likely to be a period of further research and testing to ensure that any proposed solution is actually feasible.
The Swiss Defense Department has, however, noted that it is not planning any immediate large-scale operations. According to an announcement, ‘‘Regular monitoring of the lake water and sediments currently shows no negative effects from the dumped munitions.’’ This was disclosed in an email by Samanta Leiser, a spokeswoman for the Swiss federal office for defense procurement, who added that the department ‘‘does not expect this to change.’’
The Bottom Line
The competition appears to be the country's attempt to plan for a worst-case scenario where the explosives would affect the ecosystem. The Swiss are no strangers to cleaning up the aftermath of their military history. The infamous 1947 explosion in Mitholz, where a munitions depot detonated, is a national reference.
Perhaps a more clinical move for Switzerland would have been to avoid turning its lakes into munition dumping grounds in the first place. But at least the country is planning ahead against a catastrophic implication—and generously so with an official prize.