Worries about Baltic chemical soup
MORE THAN 50 years ago, the Allied forces dumped almost 300,000 tons of chemical
weapons in and near the Baltic Sea. Now environmentalists are worried the weapons, mostly
filled with highly toxic mustard gas, are on the verge of rupturing. They warn that this
could spell disaster for the region’s fishing industry and environment.
“It could destroy all life,” claimed Ivan Blokov, director of Greenpeace
Russia.
BALTIC BACKGROUND
At the end of World War II, the Allies planned to dump Hitler’s stored
chemical weapons in the North Sea, which reaches depths of 2.5 miles.
But bad weather and other factors forced them to abandon that idea, and they
decided to sink the ships in and near the Baltic Sea, where the water is no deeper than
half a mile.
Between 1945 and 1948, the Allies sunk at least 26 and maybe as many as 60
German merchant ships filled with chemical weapons. The chemicals were packed into
different ordnance like shells or grenades.
Although fishing is not allowed in these areas, the weapons have drifted across
the sea floor. No one has been hurt so far, but there have been cases where fishermen
pulled up mustard gas in their nets.
Mustard gas is so toxic that one thousandth of the total dumped — 27,000
kilograms — could kill more than five million people.
So far Russia’s is the only local government urging that the situation be
investigated further. A recent report by the Dr. A. H. Heineken Foundation for the
Environment, in conjunction with the Russian government, recommended that countries
surrounding the Baltic Sea investigate the possibility of covering the ships in a
sarcophagus. The Russian National Committee for Environmental Safety also released a
warning that the chemicals could pose a huge problem for the Baltic Sea.
MASSIVE RELEASE?
Vadim Paka, director of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology in Kaliningrad,
Russia, has been researching the issue for years. He estimates that some of the weapon
casings have been decomposing at a rate of one millimeter every 10 years, meaning that the
first of the shells would already have deteriorated.
“Many walls of thickness are about three millimeters, and they’ve
disappeared by now,” said Paka.
The fear is that the weapon casings are all reaching the end of their lifespan,
resulting in one massive release, instead of a slow, gradual release of chemicals.
“Simultaneously huge volumes of weapons may burst into the water, many
thousands of tons in one moment,” said Paka, who is trying to mount an expedition to
investigate the situation.
OTHERS DOWNPLAY RISK
But other governments in the region are downplaying the risks. HELCOM, the
regional government group that monitors the Baltic Sea environment, recommends that
nothing be done with the ships since the small leakage of chemicals poses little risk.
“It has been released over fifty years, and it will continue to be
released,” said HELCOM’s Kjeld Jorgensen, adding that the likelihood of all the
chemicals pouring out at once was small.
But Tenzig Borisov, who was investigating the problem for the Russian
government, said the Western countries reluctance to address the situation is due to
public relations.
“They don’t want a panic, like there was with the British beef
scare,” said Borisov. “Every year it is getting worse and worse. A real danger
exists and it is a danger for the life and health of several generations of
Europeans.”
ALSO MINES, BOMBS
Another legacy of World War II and the Soviet era can be found closer to the
surface of the water: mines and bombs.
The Baltic Sea was one of the most heavily mined areas during both World Wars.
Although the Soviets spent 15 years removing mines after World War II, they added to the
problem as well. They used a number of the islands off the coast of Estonia for bombing
practice during the Cold War, leaving thousands of unexploded munitions in the water.
While the major shipping lanes have been cleared of explosives, mines often come
lose from their moorings, or bombs float to the surface.
In June, students on a school excursion in Estonia found a bomb in the water and
threw it into a bonfire. One student was killed and six others injured when the bomb
exploded.
“I don’t think we will ever be absolutely free of them,” said
Igor Schvede, chief of staff at the Baltic Naval Organization, which is responsible for
mine clearance.
Even with the proper ships, which the former Soviet republics don’t have,
mine clearing is a difficult job. During an 11-day operation last fall with mostly German
Navy ships, 28 mines were found and detonated.
