Stocamine in Alsace: ‘Toxicity of chemical waste won’t disappear, nobody knows how to deal with it’

A Strasbourg court has authorised the permanent containment of approximately 42,000 tonnes of highly toxic chemical waste: cyanide, arsenic, mercury, and more, at the former Stocamine potash mine in Wittelsheim, Alsace, rejecting calls for removal due to the site’s structural instability. While the French government and state-owned MDPA are set to inject concrete and seal the mine galleries to protect Europe’s largest aquifer, opponents argue this “eternal burial” is a gamble. Geological subsidence, heat-induced rock shifts, and corroding barriers raise fears of eventual leakage into the Upper Rhine aquifer, which supplies drinking water to millions across France, Germany, and Switzerland. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on this veritable “timebomb for future generations”, FRANCE 24’s Eve Irvine welcomes Marcos Buser, Geologist and Social Scientist specialising in long-term consequences of toxic waste disposal.