Swiss authorities call for ideas for clearing ammunition from lakes

The Federal Office for Armaments, armasuisse, is seeking ideas for the environmentally friendly and safe recovery of ammunition from Swiss lakes. The three best ideas will receive a prize of CHF50,000 ($58,325).

While these ideas will not be directly used in a salvage operation, they will serve as starting points. Ammunition will only be salvaged if there is an environmental risk.

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Between 1918 and 1964, the military dumped problematic, surplus, or obsolete munitions into several Swiss lakes. armasuisse announced on Wednesday that the ammunition, including misproductions, was disposed of in lakes such as Lake Thun, Lake Brienz, Lake Neuchâtel, and Lake Lucerne, at depths of 150 to 220 metres, amounting to over 12,000 tonnes.

Salvage only if necessary

With the ideas competition, armasuisse aims to engage universities and industry in considering the recovery of these deeply buried munitions should it become necessary. This could occur if, “contrary to expectations, a release of pollutants” is detected during seawater monitoring.

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The competition will be organised in an open and anonymous procedure, with documents published on the federal government’s tendering platform on Wednesday. The submission deadline is 6 February 2025, and entries will be assessed by a jury of experts from authorities, institutes, and universities, with results announced in April 2025.

The contributions are not intended for immediate implementation but will provide armasuisse with a basis for further clarifications or research projects.

Ammunition under sediment layers

In 2005, an assessment revealed that all potential recovery solutions at the time would have stirred up a significant amount of mud, jeopardising the lakes’ sensitive ecosystems. The dumped munitions are now covered by up to two metres of fine sediment.

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Stirring up these sediments can deplete oxygen, already scarce at these depths, and harm the ecosystem.

Additional challenges include poor visibility, the risk of explosion, water depth, currents, and the dimensions of the munitions, which range in size from four millimetres to 20 centimetres and weigh up to 50 kilos.

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Most of the ammunition is made of iron and is magnetic, while some detonators are made of non-magnetic copper, brass, or aluminium. These factors create high demands for environmentally friendly salvage, armasuisse noted.

Adapted from German by DeepL/amva

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