The Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) is participating in a global research project to assess the effect of dumping chemical munitions into the Baltic Sea. It has been estimated that after the Second World War, around 50,000 t of chemical munitions were dumped into sites at the Bornholm, the Little Belt strait, the Gotland Deep, and approximately 117,000 t in the Skagerrak strait and probably at the Gdansk Deep.
The Chemical Munitions – Search and Assessment (CHEMSEA) international co-operation project is a four-year €4.5 million project from 2011 to 2014. It aims to study the risks due to the chemical munitions in the Baltic Sea. The effect of spread of poisonous substances of the munitions on the marine environment will be studied. The EU’s Baltic Sea Region Programme is providing funds for the project. Maritime organizations and institutions from Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden are participating in the project.
Difficulties faced in assessing the behavior of chemical substances in the ocean, has led to lack of accurate information about their effect on the marine ecosystem and marine species. SYKE is using blue mussels to study the effect of these chemical warfare agents. It had placed blue mussels in cages at four sites for a period of two months. In August, it retrieved the cages which were kept at depths of 35 and 65 m. These mussels will be studied in the laboratory for effects due to the exposure.
The third CHEMSEA project meeting is to be held from 12 to 14 September in Helsinki. The Finnish Institute for Verification of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Marine Research Centre of the Finnish Environment Institute will be organizing the meeting. Representatives from the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, the Nord Stream company, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions will be participating in the meeting. The public are invited to take part in the discussion.
Source: http://www.ymparisto.fi/
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