Rusting danger: 1.6 million tons of ammunition threaten North and Baltic Sea!

Rusting danger: 1.6 million tons of ammunition threaten North and Baltic Sea!

In the German North and Baltic Sea, an estimated 1.6 million tons of conventional ammunition are to the bottom, and that makes the situation explosive, but not hopeless. As the Borkener Zeitung is regarded as a ammunition. Geologist Jens Greinert from the Kiel Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research (Geomar) confirmed. The hotspots for the dangerous ammunition come from the sinking areas shown by the Allies after the Second World War, and there have been grenades, torpedoes, bombs and mines for 80 years.

The problem is serious: This ammunition freely sets carcinogenic explosives like TNT. Experts from 16 countries have recently met at the conference "ammunition Clearance Week" in Kiel to discuss the elimination of fighting materials from the sea. The protection of critical infrastructures in the North and Baltic Sea was also a central topic. The Kiel shipyard plans to present a floating disposal platform for ammunitional loads.

recovery starts in summer

The Federal Government has launched an immediate program for rescue ammunitional loads with a budget of 100 million euros, which shows that the matter is taken seriously. In September, three recovery companies on behalf of the Federal Environment Ministry are scheduled to begin with the rescue of World War IMunition in the Bay of Lübeck. Information available to the German Press Agency indicates that the salvage should begin in summer at the earliest, even if the exact starting time is still unknown, such as euwid Recycling reported.

The pilot phase, which is focused on the Lübeck and Mecklenburg Bay, should take about six months. Here, exact scientific criteria have been used to select the locations for the trial drafts. Before the start of the salvages, information events are also planned for the population to create transparency.

A look into the future

Jens Greinert has expressed hopes that the German Baltic Sea water could be free of ammunition by the end of the 2040s, although enough financial resources are required. The salvage not only carries opportunities, but also risks; Scientists have demonstrated explosives near well -known deposits in the water and in fish. Jennifer Strehse from the Kiel Institute for Toxicology and Pharmacology reported that traces of TNT could be demonstrated, but they were in short concentrations. There are currently no health risks for humans due to the consumption of polluted fish, whereby the risk could increase if pollutants continue to get into the sea.

The next steps are clear and preparations are in full swing. If everything goes according to plan, a lot could change in the coming years. This makes it increasingly clear that not only the will, but also the necessary know-how is available in order to tackle the ammunitional loads in the sea.