Daniel Hubé, contaminated-sites and soils engineer at BRGM.
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As well as affecting populations, modern warfare also affects the environment. How long has this environmental impact been going on and what are its characteristics?
Daniel Hubé: “The First World War was undoubtedly a major turning point in terms of environmental impact. This can be explained by the mechanisation and massive development of artillery during these four years of conflict. Astronomical quantities of shells, mortar projectiles and grenades were fired, scattering metal debris and explosive residue across the front line, not to mention the unexploded ordnance fired. These, of which there are still a large number in the ground, corrode over time and gradually release pollutants, via infiltrated water, into groundwater. Furthermore, analyses of tap water have revealed the presence of perchlorates and dinitrotoluene compounds left over from the 1914-1918 war. However, this is not the only source of pollution. At the end of the war, huge stocks of munitions had to be collected, brought together and destroyed. These operations resulted in extreme, locally-concentrated pollution.”
More than a century after the end of that war, is pollution still significant?
D. H.: “Yes! On certain sites, the pollution inherited from the First World War still exceeds any pollution from more recent industrial sources. There are huge quantities of arsenic and heavy metals, which make the soil toxic so that no vegetation grows. BRGM's expert appraisal is of great help in monitoring these sites, characterising the pollution and assessing its impact. Discussions are currently under-way with the government to deal with this issue and, if necessary, implement decontamination and rehabilitation measures.”
3 millions tonnes
This is the amount of ammunition destroyed in the interwar period. Responding to an urgent need but carried out without any environmental protection measures, these operations left behind areas that are still completely sterile a hundred years later, such as the area known as la place à gaz (gas field) in the Meuse.
What parallels can be drawn with more recent conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine?
D. H.: “It could be said that, during the First World War, the environment was a collateral victim of the conflict. But during the Vietnam War, it was deliberately targeted: defoliating herbicides such as Agent Orange or incendiary products like Napalm were dropped in massive amounts to destroy the forests and crops concealing the combatants. This is when the term ‘ecocide’ was coined. In Ukraine, the pattern is somewhat similar to that of the First World War, with massive use of artillery, except that the front line is much wider and deeper. The surface area affected will therefore be much larger, not to mention the phenomenal number of mines that have been laid. The mined surface area is estimated at 175,000 km²! Clearing half of it would take fifty years of effort, mobilising all the world's demining capacities. Unfortunately, the environmental impact of the war in Ukraine is likely to last for centuries.”
BRGM mag no.2: How can we save our soils?
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BRGM mag no.2: How can we save our soils?
The second issue of BRGM mag continues to pursue the magazine's ambition: to share knowledge, enlighten and engage in dialogue and to make the Earth sciences accessible to as many people as possible. For beneath our feet lie some of the solutions for meeting today's environmental, energy and sovereignty challenges.
Soils play an essential role for the economy, the environment and society: they support biodiversity, regulate the climate, filter pollutants and store carbon and water. However, these functions are now being degraded by multiple pressures, through artificialization, pollution, erosion and loss of organic matter.
Studying soils, particularly urban and industrial soils, or phenomena such as erosion and pollution, is one of BRGM's missions. The main article in the second issue of BRGM mag is devoted to this major subject.
