Until the 1970s, the former gravel pits in Grenzach-Wyhlen—a municipality close to the borders of Switzerland, France and Germany—were being used as landfills for waste streams of various origins and compositions. The waste left behind—including residential and commercial waste, as well as waste from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries—is now polluting the groundwater. Roche Pharma AG is one of the companies that used this landfill to dispose of waste and now owns part of the site. In 2012, Roche decided to undertake a voluntary full restoration of its part of the former landfill known as "Kesslergrube".
Arcadis is managing the complex restoration process on behalf of Roche Pharma AG. Managing this organizationally and technically challenging project, which has attracted a great deal of public attention, involves tracking progress, costs and deadlines, as well as procurement processes, change management, claim management, risk management, emergency management and quality management.
By voluntarily embarking on a full restoration of its part of Kesslergrube, Roche Pharma AG is acknowledging its responsibility. The company plans to complete a high-quality, permanent restoration of the environmental damage, completely eliminating all risks posed to people and the environment. The area will be suitable for redevelopment for any purpose.
As soon as the remediation is completed, there will no longer be any evidence of unnatural soil and groundwater contamination on the site. Nothing then stands in the way of a sensible subsequent use.
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