EU urged to clear seas of discarded munitions

The European Union has been urged to do more to help tackle the problem of European seas that are contaminated by discarded munitions. A debate in the European Parliament was told that some 1.6 billion tonnes of old munitions are thought to be lying on the bottom of the Baltic Sea alone.

Finnish MEP Heidi Hautala, who gave a keynote address, said most of the relics were either discarded or dumped at the end of World War II while some date from WW I.

She said: "Though both great European wars ended decades ago, their legacies still influence our lives in many ways."

The deputy said this is "notably true" for areas contaminated by munitions in the European seas where "millions" of tonnes of unused munitions, including chemical and nuclear ones, have been dumped in European coastal seas and open oceans.

The Greens member said: "I live near the Baltic Sea so know what it is like.The anniversaries of the two world wars provides an opportunity take a fresh look at this problem and the risks, both to the environment and human health, that it poses."

She added: "The discovery of old bombs represents an encounter with the past, a past we have to remember especially in the symbolic years of 2014 and 2015. Long-forgotten weapons are an important legacy of some of the most disastrous wars Europe has ever experienced.

"Artefacts also have an historical value, which deserve protection as long as they do not pose a threat to humans or the environment."

Against this background, the issue, she said, offers the opportunity to explore the potential of further EU research cooperation on the subject.

The event, 'Munitions in the Sea' on Wednesday (28 January) was organized by the Brussels-based German Marine Research Consortium.

The problem is partly the result of the 700,000 mines laid in the North Sea during the two world wars.

Participants heard that some 300 fishermen had been injured, mostly by severe blistering, by being in direct contact with chemical agents which had leadked from bombs caught in their fishing nets.

Philipp Aumann, of the Peenemunde Historical Technical Museum in Germany, said: "The negative impact on maritime ecosystems and human health are increasingly in the public focus.

"Beach visitors mistaking phosphorus with amber and fishermen catching sulphur mustard lumps have both been reported in the media."

While some impacts are well understood, such as the impact of munitions on offshore wind parks or pipelines, many consequences, such as impacts on the food web and seafood for human consumption, require further research, he said.

Another speaker, Fabio Trincardi, of the CNR Institute of Marine Science and RITMARE Project in Italy, said: "Solutions to convincingly tackle these problems have yet to be found."

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