Notable case, Bonfol, Jura, Switzerland
Bonfol chemical landfill
Décharge industrielle de Bonfol
A former clay pit in the Swiss Jura where the Basel chemical industry dumped 114,000 tonnes of waste between 1961 and 1976. It was emptied completely between 2010 and 2016, under a sealed hall.
At a glance
- Status
- Remediated
- Activity
- 1961–1976
- Media
- soil, groundwater, surface water
- Kind of site
- landfill, chemical works
Contaminants
Mixtures and waste
Status
Remediated
Excavation ended on 2 September 2016. More than 200,000 tonnes of contaminated material was removed and burnt at 1,200 °C in Germany and Belgium. Cost: 380 million Swiss francs, paid by the industry.
Story
Eight Basel chemical and pharmaceutical companies, among them Roche and Ciba-Geigy, used a disused clay pit at Bonfol, on the French border, for their waste: distillation residues, filters from dye production, laboratory waste, solvents, pesticides and heavy metals. No complete inventory ever existed. The pit lies on the watershed between the Rhine and the Rhône.
The clay floor held rainwater: the landfill filled up and leachate began to overflow. At a fish farm the water turned yellow and the carp died. In 1998 the authorities ordered complete clean-up; in May 2000 Greenpeace occupied the site for two months, and in October an agreement was reached with the companies, grouped in bci Betriebs-AG.
From 2010 the waste was dug out to a depth of ten metres by remote-controlled machines inside an airtight hall with 40-metre arches. In mid-2010 an explosion caused by traces of chlorate halted work for a time.
Timeline
- 1961Dumping of chemical waste in the clay pit begins.
- 1976Dumping ends: 114,000 tonnes in total.
- 1998The authorities order complete clean-up.
- 2000Greenpeace occupies the site for two months; agreement in October.
- 2010Excavation under the sealed hall begins; an explosion suspends the work.
- 20162 September: the clean-up ends.
Remediation
- 2010excavation and incinerationRemote-controlled excavation under a sealed hall and incineration of the waste at 1,200 °C in Germany and Belgium (2010–2016).
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Populus × generosaHybrid poplar (P. trichocarpa × P. deltoides)Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)Evidence: field
- Chrysopogon zizanioidesVetiver grassLandfill leachateEvidence: greenhouse
- Populus × canadensisCanadian poplar (P. deltoides × P. nigra)Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE, chloroform)Evidence: laboratory
Fungi
- Bjerkandera adustaSmoky bracketSynthetic dyesEvidence: laboratory
- Cunninghamella elegansSynthetic dyesEvidence: laboratory
- Ganoderma lucidumReishi, lingzhiSynthetic dyesEvidence: laboratory
- Irpex lacteusMilk-white toothed polyporeSynthetic dyesEvidence: laboratory
- Lentinula edodesShiitakeSynthetic dyesEvidence: laboratory
- Pleurotus eryngiiKing oyster mushroomSynthetic dyesEvidence: laboratory
The rest are on the contaminant pages.
Nearby
Notable case, Muttenz / Pratteln, Switzerland
Schweizerhalle (Sandoz fire)
40 km
- Pesticides (mixed)
Notable case, Aargau, Switzerland
Kölliken hazardous waste landfill
68 km
- Mixed waste
- Landfill leachate
SIN, Pieve Vergonte (VB), Piemonte
Pieve Vergonte
185 km
- DDT and breakdown products
- Dioxins and furans
SIN, Émarèse (Aosta), Valle d'Aosta
Emarèse asbestos mines
200 km
- Asbestos
Sources
- Bonfol, la fin d'un cauchemar chimique, Swissinfo (SRG SSR), 2016
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.