Dumped Chemical Weapons In The Sea Options

Baltic Sea *Although leaked chemical warfare (CW) gases rapidly hydrolyse in sea water, potential risks of serious contamination will exist for many decades for sailors, fishermen and coastal visitors of the Baltic Sea, in particular concerning contact with lumps of mustard gas. *Since 72% of the CW agents is contained in aircraft bombs, which are already in various stages of corrosion and 63% of all CW agents is S-mustard gas, the loss by lumps of mustard, spread over the seabed in the neighbourhood of dump sites, represents the greatest danger. *There remain sites at risk outside the Allied Forces dump sites, since during the disposal procedures before 1948, ammunition was thrown overboard between the discharge ports of Wolfgast and Peenemunde and the dump sites east of Bornholm and south of Gotland. *Blue prints of emergency plans should be available in order to confine, bury or destroy ammunition at risk. Skagerak *Most dumped CW ammunition is contained in deliberately sunken vessels. *Implosion of the chemical weapon's cargo in these vessels, due to its own weight, may increase loss of CW agents, in particular from corroded aircraft bombs. *Several wrecked ships have been located outside the dump site as indicated on the nautical charts. *Steps should be taken to sarcophage the wrecked ships in order to avoid an eventual contamination of the eastern North Sea and coastal waters of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. General *Although the Helsinki Commission, through its ad hoc Working Group HELCOM CHEMU has correctly evaluated the present risks of the dumped CW ammunition, it is obvious that the authorities of the Baltic States and Norway should be prepared to act jointly in emergency situations.