Surprisingly, beneath Switzerland’s stunning lakes famous for their beauty are hidden weapons left behind by the Swiss military.
For decades, the Swiss army used these bodies of water as dumping grounds for out-of- date munitions considering it to be an effective way of getting rid of them. These consist 4,500 tons in Lake Neuchatel and 3,300 tons in Lake Lucerne. What is more amazing is that until 2021. The Swiss Air Force continued to use it Lake Neuchâtel as a practice area for bombing targets.
In some places, they reach a depth of up to 150-220 meters. But in Lake Neuchâtel they lie just between six. And seven meters below the surface. The Defense Office of Switzerland has now offered a cash reward of fifty thousand Swiss francs. Which is equal to over fifteen million Pakistani rupees due to how close those weapons are to the water’s surface.
The Task: Getting Rid of Hidden Weapons Lakes
To get this award, candidates must show how they would extract these guns safely from the lake. The best three ideas will win this money through identifying ways that can do this task without harming lives and environment. However, completing operations might cost trillions of dollars.
Dual Threat: Environment as well as Explosive Risks
It has been known since decades ago that there were secret stockpiles of ammunition found in these lakes only recently have people started talking about them. In fact ten years earlier many other potential hazards that could be brought by underwater weaponry were highlighted through a report authored by Markus Boser who is both Swis government adviser and also geologist.
The research also revealed that these explosives carry two major threats according to Boser. Nevertheless such stuff may blow up having being submerged in water and some fuses remain unremoved which exacerbate danger even further.
Moreover, there is an additional matter on whether TNT (trinitrotoluene). A chemical compound utilized in the making of explosives might taint lake contents. Lastly, the Swiss government has recognized that removing these munitions is an immense problem. And that it will be a long quest.
Environmental Concerns and the Future
During an assessment of various techniques for eliminating the ammunition in 2005. It was discovered that any attempt to take back these weapons could adversely impact the environment of this particular lake. This also demonstrates how intricate this problem is because addressing environmental safety concerns only makes it much more difficult at such a time. The authorities are still searching for answers hoping that an actionable. And healthy method will one day be found.
