Target: Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister of Ecological Transition, Energy, Climate and Risk Prevention
Goal: Find workable solution to risks posed by deactivated mines used as toxic storage sites.
Mines have long been a source of environmental concerns, and now even non-operational “dead” mines are posing a lasting danger to water and to the wildlife and the people dependent on this life-sustaining force. France has become notorious for its old, poisonous mines teeming with toxic substances like lead and arsenic. To make matters worse, much of this waste was intentionally stored in closed-off mines by leaders looking for convenient toxic dump sites.
One such site, known as Stocamine, holds more than 40,000 tons of toxins roughly 500 meters below-ground. Located right above this poison mine is an aquifer that serves as the water source for local wildlife and communities of people. Seepage from the mine is already believed to have contributed to massive “dead zones” of fish and marine life. Local leaders apparently believe pouring more concrete around the mine will keep further seepage at bay. But as rocks consistently shift in unexpected ways underground, it is not a matter of if but when a more widespread environmental disaster will occur.
Protesters have consistently called for outright removal of these pits of poison. Sign the petition below to support their efforts.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Minister Pannier-Runacher,
Alsace’s Stocamine is just one example of the ticking time bombs that lay underneath France’s communities. This closed mine, currently filled with 40,000-plus tons of toxic waste, could easily infect the aquifer setting just meters above it. In turn, the Upper Rhine Aquifer and the millions of people across nations that rely on it would be at immediate risk from an environmental and public health nightmare. The current solution to simply “concrete” the problem away is not sustainable and is in fact recklessly irresponsible.
Heed the warnings of the people who know these dangers best and find a better, safer method of toxic waste disposal that does not imperil the futures of ecosystems and communities alike.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Zenith
