‘A timebomb’: could a French mine full of waste poison the drinking water of millions? | Mining

EPolice police linger with the back to the two hectares (five acres) site known as Stocamine. The place is indescribable in the morning burnt: two mine trees, a few modern appearance buildings, staff parking, landscaping lines. The reason for the police presence, however, is what is below: 42,000 tonnes of toxic waste stored under our feet.

Stocamine, which is in the old industrial town of Wittelsheim, Alsace, once held an old potash mine. Now, mine trees are closed, storing toxic waste elsewhere. Above mine is one of the largest aquifers in Europe.

Some fear that this toxic waste will not remain sealed in the mine. Over time, scientists say that he could infiltrate the Alsace aquifer, which feeds the aquifer of the upper Rhine which flows between France, Switzerland and Germany, potentially contaminating the drinking water of millions of people. Substances that have been linked to mass mass in fauna, which could have serious and long effects on ecosystems.

On June 17, a judge confirmed the government’s decision and ruled that waste should remain and be stifled in tons of concrete to prevent it from leaking. Those who campaign so that it is deleted called the decision “a time bomb for future generations”.

Today, the main visitors are 30 cyclists in plastic ponchos, with some children and support vehicles. They came to protest, but only lasted in the rain before leaving.

“It is rare that the police are not there,” said Yann Flory, a retired sports teacher who campaigns against the fact of leaving waste in the mine and has organized more than 20 demonstrations since 1989.

Flory began to fight against the mine because he had young children. Now he does it for his grandchildren. “It will not be for tomorrow. Maybe I will no longer be touched. I’m too old. But my children, my grandchildren, they will surely do it, ”he says. “We are convinced that one day or another, the water we drink will be irreversibly polluted.”

An “eternal grave” for waste

The aquifer is 5 meters below the surface. In addition to 500 meters through the Rose and white striped rock is the old potash mine, containing 125 km of tunnels. A space for the size of seven football fields contains mercury, arsenic and other heavy metals as well as cyanide and residues from household waste incinerators. Reports suggest that additional illegal waste can also be hidden there.

Over the years, the authorities and producers of waste from around the world have used old mines as “safe” eternal tombs for toxic waste – out of sight, out of mind. But the rock here is in motion, which lights up under the pressure of neighboring mines, corroding in a heat of 30 ° C. The ceilings are sagging and the walls are made at a pace of 2 cm per year. There are some of the waste containers are not accessible – or will not be longer.

The projections vary, but research suggests that over the next 300 years, water gradually floods the mine. Some scientists say that it is possible to seal the pits and delay the release of contamination – or even stop it completely. Other scientists argue that the only thing to guarantee the safety of future generations is to remove waste, which could cost around 65 million euros (55 million sterling pounds).

The government has chosen to inject tons of concrete into galleries and backfilling wells to make them waterproof, leaving waste there permanently. Environmental groups believe that this is reckless, given the uncertainty about changing rock.

Even in small quantities, heavy metals in water have been linked to a series of health problems such as cancer, neurological conditions and renal lesions, and can accumulate in the body over time.

The prospect of a leak also has important consequences on wild life in rivers and wetlands fueled by the aquifer. In aquatic life, similar impacts, including neurological problems and development deformations, have been documented, researchers saying that waste leaks are a “huge threat” for biodiversity. Other cases are documented on the leachate of discharge pollution in water systems and soil contamination, threatening ecosystems. Cyanide – one of the most toxic substances present in the Stocamine – is extremely dangerous for river ecosystems and has been linked to mass deaths and dead areas.

Alsace Nature brought the case before the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that leaving waste where it was a risk to public health. On June 17, the court judged that waste could stay, claiming that the deterioration of the galleries had already made the withdrawal.

The minors were betrayed ‘

At the demonstration is one of the men who put toxic waste there in the first place: Jean-Pierre Hecht, who grew up in the city of Witelsheim, officially known as a Fleurrie city or “floral city” but informally as “the commune of garbage”. Hecht began to operate in 1982 at the age of 20. After long changes, he would hang his mining uniform on Hook 366, proud of his work. He appreciated the camaraderie and his physique. He ended his career in the same tunnels where his grandfather started his.

“Everyone worked in the mine,” explains Hecht. The mining companies have created cities, roads, churches, canteens and health services for their workers. Schools and sports clubs were provided to children. The company has subsidized vacation by the sea or in the mountains. “What was good is that everyone was the same. There was no jealousy, everyone knew each other, ”explains Hecht. In the 80s, 6,500 minors arrived here every morning. But even it was half of the number that had worked here in the 1960s, and through the 90s, he continued to decline. “We were the latest generation,” he says.

In 1997, the decision to store toxic waste in the mine was sold as a rescue buoy to minors: the management of a repository of waste underground could provide them with continuous employment. For years, officials have reassured the public that waste would only be stored for 30 years.

“We hoped that by storing underground waste, we would find a solution to treat this waste and be able to recycle it in one way or another thanks to technological progress. But working on this subject has never seen the light of day, ”explains Hecht. The leaflets distributed at the time described the project as “a mine to serve the environment”.

More than 90 jobs were planned, but they did not materialize. In September 2002, a fire broke out under the ground, burning for days and spitting toxic smoke for months. The CEO at the time was sentenced to four months in suspension and the installation was closed, having created only 24 jobs. After the liquidation in 2009, the French government became the only shareholder in Mines de Potasse d’Alsace, which owns Stocamine, and refused to comment on this article.

Many children of minors still live in Wittelsheim. Today, Hecht – Once in favor of the project – says: “The former American minors have the impression that we were betrayed.”

Journalists asked by journalists in 2022 what he would like for the coming year if he had a magic wand, the mayor of Witelsheim, Yves Goepfert, said: “I would get rid of Stocamine.” For Goepfert, leaving the waste in the mine was “the slightest solution that there is … for the moment”.

“I have no less harmful alternative solution than it,” he said. He said there should be more research to understand the hydrology of the region and the potential risks in terms of flood scenarios, and how it could be made more stable. “There are many hypotheses-as many hypotheses as specialists who come to take a look,” he said.

‘A burden for our dependents

The underground landscapes are unpredictable and what is buried can resurface in another way. The Stocamine is intended to flood gradually over the next centuries, but it is little known on what is happening when the water meets the waste. Several salt and potash mines collapsed due to contact with fresh water, causing landslides, sagging and abyss over the ground.

Dozens of hydrologists, geochemists and geologists have been removed from the Stocamine file to work it. One is Marcos Buser, who studied the cause for the first time in 2010 when he was appointed by the French government as part of a steering committee.

Buser’s conclusion from the start was clear – waste can be deleted and this must be done urgently. “It is better to do it now and not leave these things to future generations,” said the Swiss geologist, who is a toxic and nuclear waste specialist.

The standard approach to the burial of waste underground and to forget it is defective, explains Buser, which describes the history of the elimination of hazardous waste in discharges as “a story of chess”. Confainment measures often only last a few decades, then it is expensive to resolve them.

Stocamine is more than a simple technical problem – it’s also moral, he says. “We must fundamentally change how we manage waste. We cannot eliminate hazardous waste in the environment – it will come back, ”explains Buser, adding that we have to work towards a circular economy, not mountains of waste. “We only leave this burden for our dependents.”

Meanwhile, the European Community of Alsace will appeal to the government’s decision to seal Stocamine waste with concrete. “We intend to systematically recall the citizens and their elected officials that they have a time bomb under their feet,” explains Flory.