Asbestos found during Gotthard road tunnel works

Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Miners working on the construction of the second Gotthard road tunnel have discovered asbestos-like mineral deposits.

A fibrous silicate mineral called actinolite was discovered during the drilling of the access gallery in the granite, the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) said in a statement. It is possible that small quantities of asbestos fibres were released during the excavation work. If they enter the lungs, a health risk cannot be ruled out.

“We did not expect to find asbestos in this area. The crack is only one metre deep, but geologists cannot rule out the possibility of finding actinolite further down,” said Udo Oppliger, who is in charge of the tunnel project for the FEDRO.

Measures have therefore been taken to protect the workers. In particular, they must wear FFP3 protective masks. Experts will be brought in to detect critical asbestos deposits and the workers will be trained in the handling of rocks that may contain this substance.

Measures have also been taken to protect the population and the area around the construction site. Excavated material containing asbestos fibres is being deposited “safely and in accordance with the law” in a landfill in Airolo in canton Ticino, according to FEDRO. The transported material is sprayed and covered to fix the dust and prevent the release of fibres. Air quality checks are carried out along the entire route of the excavated material from the tunnel to the landfill.

This is not the first time that asbestos has been discovered during the construction of a tunnel. The material was also encountered during the construction of the Lötschberg, Gotthard and Ceneri base tunnels.

The second Gotthard road tunnel will be built parallel to the first, and was approved by voters in 2016. The CHF2.14 billion ($2.3 billion) project, between Göschenen in the central Swiss canton of Uri and Airolo in Ticino, is expected to finish in 2029. The original 16.9km Gotthard road tunnel was opened in 1980 to connect the southern canton of Ticino with central Switzerland. It is one of Switzerland’s most important transport routes and among the longest road tunnels in the world.