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- Since 2018 there have been several major fish kills in Blausee, thousands of trout have died.
- 1000 tons of contaminated old gravel were illegally dumped into the quarry above the lake.
- The contaminated ballast comes from the Lötschberg tunnel, currently undergoing renovation.
- Blausee AG has filed a criminal complaint.
Suddenly the Blausee was no longer blue. But cloudy and brackish. “It was a huge shock to see the lake like this,” says Stefan Linder of Blausee AG of the incident this spring. The farm was even worse: thousands of trout died there.
Blausee AG had to fight several fish kills since spring 2018. According to an investigation by the “SRF Rundschau”, the “Berner Zeitung” and the Tamedia research department, the total damage is 40 tons of fish worth of two million francs.
Thousands of trout perished on the Blausee fish farm.
SRF
Stefan Linder has a clear suspicion of what damaged the Blausee and killed the trout: contaminated old gravel from the Lötschberg tunnel. Currently the tunnel is receiving a new track and all the old gravel is being removed.
Around a thousand tons of gravel material were illegally dumped into the Mitholz quarry.
As the investigations of the “Rundschau” and the newspapers involved show, the old gravel was processed and deposited in the Mitholz quarry on the Blausee. Both illegal. The Canton of Bern confirms: “Around a thousand tons of gravel material was illegally dumped at the Mitholz quarry,” said Jacques Ganguin.
The director of the Bern Office of Water and Waste emphasizes that the old ballast should have belonged to special washing facilities according to the approved disposal concept. “Companies then did it differently,” says Ganguin. Old ballast is often contaminated with heavy metals and toxins from railroad ties.
Groundwater flows from the quarry to the Blausee
Stefan Linder is convinced that the illegal dump is responsible for the trout’s death. A flow of groundwater runs from the quarry to the lake. “We reject the accusations of Blausee AG in all their forms”, says Marcel Rychen, chairman of the board of directors of SHB Steinbruch Mitholz AG in an interview with the “Rundschau”.
Research by authorities and laboratory tests have shown that there has never been any danger to people or the environment.
“Authorities investigations and laboratory tests have shown that there has never been any danger to people or the environment,” says Rychen. The canton took groundwater samples on June 30 and found no contamination.
Rychen admits that not all went well when it came to disposing: “If there were misunderstandings, we acted transparently and quickly.” The quarry has dredged the thousand tons illegally deposited and disposed of them correctly.
Heavy metals and carcinogens
For Marcel Rychen and the quarry, the issue ended. However, Stefan Linder from Blausee AG sees it differently: Blausee AG took a water sample from the quarry and examined it in a recognized laboratory.
This sample shows considerable exposure to heavy metals and environmental toxins. The same substances were found in the dead fish. “We have a lot of very clear evidence that the poison comes from the old gravel,” says Stefan Linder.
And according to the chairman of the board of directors of Blausee AG, there are still complaints: even today, contaminated gravel and old sleepers are temporarily stored in a poorly drained place. That is inadmissible. Blausee AG has filed a criminal complaint.
“Rundschau”
