The former hunting shooting range Embrach has been fully remediated
The contaminated site remediation of the former hunting shooting range Embrach has been completed. Pollutants and remnants of shooting operations were removed from an area of approximately seven hectares.
The area in the nationally protected Töss floodplains is now once again reserved for nature, as the Building Directorate of the Canton of Zurich announced.
Shooting operations in the floodplain landscape, which is now protected under federal law, were restricted in 2020 and ceased entirely in 2023. For around 60 years, a hunting shooting range for hobby hunters was located in the Töss floodplains near Embrach.
The site was strewn with the remnants of clay pigeons and ammunition. Various pollutants had accumulated in the soil. The soil was excavated to a depth of between 20 and 80 centimetres. The contaminated material was treated in soil washing and processing facilities in the region, sorted, and where possible recycled into construction materials, or otherwise incinerated in specialised furnaces or safely disposed of in landfills. Approximately 320 tonnes of lead and around 10 tonnes of PAH were thus removed from nature. To minimise the impact of construction work on the valuable flora and fauna, the remediation was carried out in two phases between 2021 and 2025. The costs amount to approximately 19 million francs.
2,000 trees planted
The remediated and recultivated area includes, among other things, newly created watercourses, ponds and dry meadows. Because around half of the area requiring remediation was forested, the woodland had to be cleared in order to remove the pollutants from the soil. Approximately 2,000 trees were planted for reforestation.
The site is a nature reserve and can largely not be freely accessed. However, a newly created path leading close to the Töss river offers visitors a glimpse into the area.
