Law Directs Pentagon to Deal
with Ocean-Dumped Chem Weapons
CHEMICAL
WEAPONS WORKING GROUP
128 Main
St. Berea KY 40403
859-986-9868
859-986-2695 (F)
www.cwwg.org kefcwwg@cwwg.org
for
more information contact:
Craig Williams (859) 986-7565
Craig Williams (859) 986-7565
for
immediate release: Wednesday, October 18, 2006
LAW DIRECTS PENTAGON TO
DEAL WITH OCEAN-DUMPED CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Includes Assessment of Environmental Impacts of Ocean Dump Sites
Includes Assessment of Environmental Impacts of Ocean Dump Sites
As
part of the 2007 Defense Authorization Act (§314), signed into law by
President Bush yesterday, the Pentagon will be required to perform
multiple efforts associated with the dumping of chemical as well as
conventional weapons off the coasts of the United States.
The law directs the Secretary of Defense to, among other things:
However, according to a 2006 report by the Congressional Research Service, "The Army's records did not note other instances of ocean disposal until 1941. Therefore, the extent to which ocean disposal may have occurred in between these years is unknown."
Because of the incompleteness of the records, estimating the precise quantity and types of weapons dumped is not possible. Preliminary research by the CWWG has identified at least 21,000 tons of chemical agents dumped off the U.S. coasts during the period. In addition to chemical weapons, over 75,000 tons of radioactive wastes were dumped in these areas between 1964 and 1968 alone.
CWWG Director, Craig Williams points out that many of these dump sites are located off the mainland coasts of major cities including Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the west; Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Miami in the east, and every major city along the Gulf.
"This is a huge and potentially dangerous situation that has been ignored for decades," said Williams. "Only recently, with exposures to fisherman in Hawaii and civilians in Delaware has attention been focused on the problem."
"The fundamental questions of what, how much, where and the potential impacts are just beginning to be asked," he noted. "However, the next time whales or dolphins 'mysteriously' beach themselves on one of our coasts, scientists might ask themselves if exposure to these lethal chemicals could be a contributing, or even a primary cause."
The law directs the Secretary of Defense to, among other things:
- conduct a historical review to determine the number, size, and probable location of sites where the Armed Forces disposed of military munitions in coastal waters;
- annually release new information to the Congress as such is discovered, including any environmental restoration activities associated with the review;
- identify known or potential hazards posed by disposed military munitions and inform potential affected users of the ocean environment of such potential hazards;
- determine whether such munitions have caused or are causing contamination;
- investigate the long-term effects of seawater exposure on disposed munitions, particularly effects on chemical munitions;
- investigate the feasibility of
removing or otherwise remediating the munitions.
However, according to a 2006 report by the Congressional Research Service, "The Army's records did not note other instances of ocean disposal until 1941. Therefore, the extent to which ocean disposal may have occurred in between these years is unknown."
Because of the incompleteness of the records, estimating the precise quantity and types of weapons dumped is not possible. Preliminary research by the CWWG has identified at least 21,000 tons of chemical agents dumped off the U.S. coasts during the period. In addition to chemical weapons, over 75,000 tons of radioactive wastes were dumped in these areas between 1964 and 1968 alone.
CWWG Director, Craig Williams points out that many of these dump sites are located off the mainland coasts of major cities including Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the west; Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Miami in the east, and every major city along the Gulf.
"This is a huge and potentially dangerous situation that has been ignored for decades," said Williams. "Only recently, with exposures to fisherman in Hawaii and civilians in Delaware has attention been focused on the problem."
"The fundamental questions of what, how much, where and the potential impacts are just beginning to be asked," he noted. "However, the next time whales or dolphins 'mysteriously' beach themselves on one of our coasts, scientists might ask themselves if exposure to these lethal chemicals could be a contributing, or even a primary cause."
--30-
Copies of the section of the Defense Bill cited are available upon request from the CWWG office.
Copies of the section of the Defense Bill cited are available upon request from the CWWG office.
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