Microplastics in a natural paradise Tourists pollute remote Appenzell mountain lake
Lake Seealpsee is considered a natural idyll in the Alpstein - but new research shows that even this remote body of water is not free of microplastics and chemicals.
27.10.2025, 10:07
27.10.2025, 10:25
SDA
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- Microplastics and chemicals have been found in Seealpsee, presumably from visitor waste and atmospheric input.
- The main sources are packaging, cigarettes, tire abrasion and residues from cosmetics and care products.
- The canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden has announced further investigations to better classify the extent of the pollution.
Microplastics and chemicals have been deposited in the Seealpsee in Appenzell. They probably originate from visitors' waste and may also have entered the remote body of water via the air.
Sediment samples from the Appenzell Innerrhoden Office for the Environment were examined by the Ecotox Center in Dübendorf ZH, the canton wrote in a press release on Monday. The source of the microplastics is suspected to be waste from food packaging, drinks bottles and cigarettes.
Despite the remote location of the mountain lake, which is only accessible to visitors on foot, chemicals left behind by tire abrasion were also detected. "One possible explanation for the presence of these chemicals may be the deposition of dust from the atmosphere," wrote the canton.
Additional investigations necessary
However, some of these substances are also found in cosmetics and personal care products and could have entered the lake via bathers.
According to the canton, the results illustrate how even remote bodies of water are affected by man-made influences. Additional investigations are needed to be able to classify the test results more precisely.
