Battle Scars: Remnant of Verdun
In 1916, the Western Front near Verdun was decimated by some of the bloodiest fighting between the French and the Germans during World War I. For 303 days, the two sides launched approximately 40 million artillery shells at each other. One hundred years later, France is still attempting to clean up the mess. Roughly 140 miles east of Paris lies the Zone Rouge (Red Zone), an area that even 100 years later is still a deadly reminder of the battle that claimed over 700,000 casualties. Pockmarked by the continued bombardment, the landscape is forever altered. But today, the danger comes from unexploded shells scattered throughout the Red Zone. Some estimates claim it may take between 300 and 700 years to safely clear the region of shells. But the shells are only part of the problem.
World War 1 introduced many new machines of war, including airplanes, tanks, flamethrowers, and a variety of deadly gases. Verdun saw the use of phosphine gases by the German troops, and those shells are among the deadliest in the region. Apart from the continued threat to munitions removal workers from toxic buildup, the chemicals have seeped into the soil and in some places, nothing grows and animals die from exposure. Previously, hunters were allowed on the land with special permits, but high levels of lead and other chemicals in the animals have driven them away.
Studies on soil and water in the region have shown that instead of fading with time, the toxicity has increased. Arsenic is as high as 17 percent in some regions, and some water sources contain 300 times more arsenic than is considered safe. Lead from shrapnel is a common toxin, as are mercury and zinc, which are also found in high concentrations and can remain for up to 10,000 years in the soil.
World War I decimated old growth forests on the Western Front. Even today, unexploded shells are unearthed by farming along the line where the front existed in stalemate for four years. Toxins threaten the water supply of nearby municipalities. Though France tried to move back in once the war was over, it is clear it will be a long time before Verdun can be reclaimed.
~RA
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Sources: http://bit.ly/2pWCZ28 http://bit.ly/2fKV5Pz