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 ($58,389). 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. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox 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 ...