<
https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/03/fishing-crews-in-the-atlantic-keep-accidentally-dredging-up-chemical-weapons/>
"Until 1970, the US dumped an estimated 17,000 tons of unspent chemical weapons
from World War I and II off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean—and that disposal
decision continues to haunt commercial fishing operations.
In an article published this week in the
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report, health officials from New Jersey and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention report that there were at least three incidents of commercial
fishing crews dredging up dangerous chemical warfare munitions (CWMs) off the
coast of New Jersey between 2016 and 2023.
The three incidents exposed at least six crew members to mustard agent, which
causes blistering chemical burns on skin and mucous membranes. (An example of
these types of burns can be seen here, but be warned, the image is graphic.)
One crew member required overnight treatment in an emergency department for
respiratory distress and second-degree blistering burns. Another was burned so
badly that they were hospitalized in a burn center and required skin grafting
and physical therapy.
“Recovered CWMs continue to pose worker and food safety risks. Because of ocean
drift, storms, and offshore industries, sea-disposed CWMs locations are largely
unknown and potentially far from their originally documented dump site,” the
health officials write.
It’s not the first such report in
MMWR. In 2013, federal health officials
reported another three incidents in the mid-Atlantic. The report noted that
clam fishermen in Delaware Bay “told investigators that they routinely recover
munitions that often ‘smell like garlic,’ a potential indication of the
presence of a chemical agent.”
In the three newly reported incidents, one occurred in 2016 off the coast of
Atlantic City when a crew was dredging for clams. A munition was brought
onboard on a conveyor belt. A crew member noticed it and threw it overboard,
but it was subsequently the member who developed arm burns requiring skin
grafting. Beyond the health toll, a delay in communicating the incident allowed
the clams dredged alongside the munition to move into production. This led to a
recall of 192 cases of clam chowder and the destruction of 704 cases of clams."
Via Mark Wollschlager and Diane A.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
