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Illegally dumped gravel in a quarry is said to be responsible for fish dying multiple times in the Blausee. Those responsible deny it.
In temporarily polluted waters? Tourists enjoy the mild weather in Blausee on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018, in Kandergrund.
mvl. In the past two years there have been several fish kills in Blausee, a popular tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland. Now there is a suspicion that the old gravel from the Lötschberg tunnel is said to have caused the death. Stefan Linder of Blausee AG raises this suspicion in reports in Tamedia and SRF “Rundschau” newspapers. Blausee AG has filed a criminal complaint, according to media reports. The total damage amounts to two million francs with 40 tons of dead fish.
The fact is that 1000 tons of old contaminated gravel was illegally dumped in the quarry above the lake. This is confirmed by the authorities of the canton of Bern. Old ballast is often contaminated with heavy metals and toxins from railroad ties. The director of the Bern Canton Water and Waste Office, Jacques Ganguin, is quoted as saying that the material belonged to special washing facilities and that the concept provided for it. The companies would have “done it differently.”
Marcel Rychen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SHB Steinbruch Mitholz AG, told the “Rundschau” that there was never any danger to humans or animals. The canton took groundwater samples on June 30 and found no contamination.
Blausee AG itself reportedly collected a water sample at the quarry and had it examined by a recognized laboratory. This sample shows considerable exposure to heavy metals and environmental toxins. The same substances were found in the dead fish.
