Toxins found in popular Swiss tourist spot - SWI swissinfo.ch

9/18/2020 1:47:05 AM

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Carcinogenic toxins have seeped into the groundwater at the Blausee in the Bernese Oberland, killing thousands of fish, say the owners of the lake''s fish farm. They point the finger at companies renovating the Lötschberg summit tunnel and the authorities.

This content was published on September 17, 2020 - 16:20 September 17, 2020 - 16:20 Keystone-SDA/ts

Groundwater measurements at the gravel works near Blausee had shown that the concentration of so-called PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, some of which can cause cancer) were 424,000 times the limit value, said Stefan Linder, one of the Blausee owners.

Speaking at a press conference in Bern on Thursday, Linder said further results from water samples taken from the gravel pit also showed high excess values for heavy metals such as lead and zinc.

He said the damage caused by the deaths of tens of thousands of fish amounted to CHF2 million ($2.2 million). A claim for damages was certainly being prepared, he said, but first the polluter had to be identified.

''Obvious'' connection

On Wednesday it was revealed that since 2018 masses of trout had died in the fish farm of the Blausee, a popular tourist destination.

Dead trout in the Blausee Keystone

The Blausee operators assume this is because of toxins in the groundwater which feeds the Blausee and one of the tanks in the fish farm. The fish died only in this tank, said Linder, but not in the others, which were fed by springs.

They believe that the toxins come from the gravel and tar-treated railway sleepers [railroad ties] that were in the Lötschberg summit tunnel, which has been undergoing renovation since August 2018. The current track is being removed and replaced by a concrete foundation.

The old ballast and railway sleepers are being unloaded, separated and transported further on the site of the Mitholz gravel works near Blausee. By mid-June, however, around 1,000 tonnes of fine material had also been dumped there – until canton Bern intervened after the Blausee operators reported their suspicions.

This dumping had taken place illegally, said Jacques Ganguin, head of the Bernese Office for Water and Waste, on Wednesday. The concept was for all material to be taken to a specialised plant in the municipality of Wimmis and washed there, he said.

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