Swiss authorities are holding a contest to find solutions to take vintage munitions out of their picturesque lakes.
A statement released earlier this month by Armasuisse, Switzerland’s federal agency for military procurement, announced that the top three submissions would split $60,000 as a reward. The announcement claims that future studies into addressing the problem of submerged explosives might be based on the winning concepts, even if they will not be adopted immediately.
The Swiss army dumped hundreds of tons of unexploded bombs in the lakes between 1918 and 1964. Officials reasoned that sinking the weapons was the safest method to dispose of them. The munitions were dumped in Brienz, Neuchatel, Lucerne, and Thun lakes. The munitions settled in depths from 20 feet to 720 feet.
Armasuisse has announced an idea competition to bring together academics and business leaders to discuss potential solutions to the problem of safely and ecologically retrieving munitions.
In 2005, an evaluation of potential recovery technologies revealed that all the munitions recovery options that had been feasible at the time would cause significant sludge turbulence and pose substantial dangers to the delicate lake habitat. In addition to the dangers of explosions, low visibility, currents, water depth, and varying ammunition sizes and weights were other obstacles. Armasuisse states that some parts are composed of non-magnetic metals such as copper, aluminum, and brass, which adds another layer of complexity. The statement explained that all of these things pose problems for green munitions recovery.
Winners will be revealed in April 2025, and the competition will end on February 6, 2025.
Taking action to dispose of old weapons is nothing new for Switzerland. Residents of the hamlet of Mitholz were reportedly forced to evacuate their houses in 2020 due to the need to remove approximately 3,500 tons of explosives stockpiled in a depot. Several massive explosions demolished one of Switzerland’s largest subterranean ammo storage bunkers shortly after World War II. The depot’s storage of explosives, which included over 7,000 tons, went off in 1947, killing nine individuals, wounding twenty, and severely damaging the small village.
