It is a maze of galleries buried 550 meters underground, in Wittelsheim, north-west of Mulhouse.
Cavities dug under the old potash mines where more than 42,000 tons of toxic waste are stored.
Asbestos, mercury, arsenic, cyanide: products that the government, after decades of procrastination, decided last January to bury permanently.
But the administrative court of appeal of Nancy canceled this Friday the prefectural decree authorizing this burying "for an unlimited period", a few days before the start of the containment work.
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The umpteenth twist of a huge failure that began at the end of the 1990s. At the time, Stocamine signed the hope of a renewal for the region: converting the old mines into
"a unique site in France"
intended to receive hazardous waste from all over the country.
A
"mine in the service of the environment"
making it possible to preserve a hundred jobs, say its promoters.
Up to 320,000 tonnes of waste
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