The Stocamine containment, in Alsace, is an old mine converted into a toxic waste storage site. Nearly 42,000 tons are stored there and the first pickaxe will be given this Tuesday, May 10.
What to do with asbestos, arsenic, mercury remains, electronic waste or industrial waste? 550 meters underground, 42,000 tonnes are stored at the Stocamine site and their future is at the heart of a legal battle.
Residents and associations want to take them out, in particular because the largest groundwater table in Europe is above, which would be too dangerous according to the State, which has been pleading for years for containment of the site.
Beginning of the roadworks
This Tuesday thus marks the start of work in this direction, with the construction of a first dam. And this even though justice has not yet decided the last resort. A decision is expected for spring 2023. By then, six containment dams will have been built.
MDPA, the site operator, however, denies forcing the hand of judges. This work is reversible, and it will always be possible to extract the toxic waste if it is decided so, he assures.
On the other hand, if justice ends up authorizing permanent confinement, the site promises to be colossal and should last for years. A total of twelve dams are planned and it will be necessary to wait until 2027 for the two access shafts to the mine to be closed.