The “Zone Rouge”—dangerous post WWI site

quote:

---

The Zone Rouge (Red Zone) is a region near Verdun, France spanning some 460 square miles of mostly virgin forest – at least on the surface.

---

quote:

---

The Germans and the French faced off on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France two years later in February 1916.

---

quote:

---

Verdun has long held sentimental value to the French because the area around it held 20 large forts and 40 smaller ones which had protected France’s eastern border for centuries. The Germans were convinced that if they took the area, the French would go berserk and commit everything they had to secure it. In so doing, they’d bleed themselves dry.

While it worked, it didn’t go entirely the way the Germans had hoped. The result was one of the longest and bloodiest conflicts – not just within World War I, but in recorded history, as well. Lasting 303 days, the Battle of Verdun cost 377,231 French soldiers their lives and 337,000 German ones – about 70,000 casualties a month. Recent figures suggest, however, that that figure may actually be far higher – some 976,000 deaths and about 1,250,000 seriously injured, if you include civilians.

---

quote:

---

When WWI ended in 1918, the French realized that it would take several centuries to completely sweep the area clear – some experts suggest it could take between 300 to 700 years, maybe more

---

quote:

---

While some bits look like pristine forest, they hide millions of explosives – both the ones that have gone off, as well as those just waiting for someone or something to set them off. Weapons, helmets, and even skeletal fragments are still being found, something that’s likely to go on for centuries...

---

quote:

---

But explosives, even those already spent, are made out of dangerous chemicals. And remember how they used poison gas? Millions of tons of that gunk compacted together in such a confined area has had an impact on the soil and ground water of the region, resulting in patches where little grows and where animals die.

And it’s getting worse. Up until 2004, foresters and hunters were allowed in with special permits till scientists made an awful discovery. Soil analysis in some parts of the Red Zone found arsenic levels of up to 17%. That’s several thousand times higher than in previous decades, meaning those chemicals are acting up, not down.

---

quote:

---

scientists...also found an increase in the non-biodegradable lead from shrapnel. But it’s not just in the water. They’ve also discovered non-biodegradable lead in some animals, especially wild boars, so that turned the hunters off and with good reason.

---

quote:

---

Even on the outskirts of the Zone Rouge, however, farmers aren’t safe. Not a year passes without someone driving a tractor over an unexploded shell that goes off. Fortunately, there haven’t been any casualties in several decades… except for ruined tractors and badly shaken farmers.

The real danger, however, comes not from explosive shells. They come from the gas shells – the number one killer of those who work in munitions removal.

---