Pollution induced by the ammunition

All the ammunition of War and the main part of the ammunition of hunting contain components or toxic agents and/or Polluant S. Of green” or “nonpolluting” ammunition known as the “were conceived and sold starting from the end of the 20th century, but they are very little sold and used (less than 0,1% of the total in service), and they often contain still toxic components, in less quantity and/or less poisons. The toxicity of the or not drawn fired ammunition is one of the problems of after-effects of the wars which worries more the experts.

The memorials gathered many testimonys on the after-effects of wars but, surprisingly, it seems that the ecotoxicological or even medical impacts related to the drawn or lost ammunition were completely forgotten by the historians like besides by the managers and users of the sites polluted by the wars.

Lead

Because of its characteristics (weight, malleability, availability), the Plomb is component the oldest and more used to manufacture the projectiles and granulates for firearms and guns. Billion hardened antimony and/or arsenic lead balls was manufactured for the shells Shrapnel the most used in the zones of tranchées.
On sees clearly that after approximately 80 years spent in the ground, to 60 cm of depth approximately, lead is surbedded on the peripheral part of the ball (gray color and consistency between creamy and granulous) whereas the oxide blanchâtre of the ball of left appreciably did not corrode the ball, which even remained almost intact on its face flattened with the impact (in a more acid medium, it could have been about it differently). The character bioassimilable of the lead oxidized on the surface or in the ground or water starting from this type of object (after-effects of war) does not seem yet to be studied. Lead, with the state of molecules bioassimilables is a toxic substance very for all the animals and the Man, in particular for the embryo and the Fœtus.

Other poisons

Lead is the first Polluant which comes to mind but, other poisons are present in the Munition S or emitted by them; Radionuclide S contained or produced by the nuclear weapons while passing by poison gases contained by the ammunition known as “chemical” or uranium depleted recently used, of many other components pose potential or proven problems of public health and environment.
Ces problems arises at the time of their manufacture, at the time of the shooting (ex: vaporization of mercury resulting from the Starter or of lead and copper torn off by friction), at the time of the impact (ex: vaporization, dispersion and inhalation of Uranium impoverished). The risk persists in the medium and long term concerning the poisons released by the degradation of stored, lost old ammunition or immersed at sea.

Long-term impacts of the drawn ammunition and shell having exploded

One is unaware of what became the tons of mercury released by the starters (of shell, balls and another machines). For one century, the mercury rates have grown in the environment, at sea in particular, but there remains difficult to trace the origin of it. Moreover very unstable mercury fulminate naturally often was stabilized and protected in a capsule rather corrosion resistant, which could slow down its diffusion in the environment.

For the triplet Lead/Antimony/Arsenic , the sites lengthily rammed by the shells shrapnels are probably those which could pose more the problem. In France, it is a priori primarily on ground and in " Red zone " (11 departments), and more particularly in the sectors of Verdun, the Somme and Vimy that this problem arises, with a density of Lead-metal which counts among highest in the world. This “lead of war” is a toxic waste and dangerous, present in dispersed quantity. It is a form of after-effect very badly taken into account by the legislation and the administrations, and not evaluated from the ecotoxicological and medical point of view.

- In a close field which can clarify that of the after-effects of war, certain environmental and medical effects of the lead of hunting (shot) and fishing (tackles) or of sporting shooting or exercise were studied better, in particular in North America and at Inuits where one confirmed their ecological and medical impact (thanks to the isotopic tracing in particular). In France, the national school veterinary surgeon de Nantes has also confirméet specified the level of avian risk of Saturnisme for the water birds (experiments of duck mallards intoxications).
Même if annual tonnages of lead emitted annually by the ammunition of hunting and shooting-trap should not be underestimated, one cannot transfer these results to the case from the lead from war , generally present in the form of balls, balls or parts or glares more large and more heavy than the shot of hunting or shooting-trap, and thus a priori much more slow to diffuse in the environment.

One curiously eluded the study and the follow-up of the impacts ecological and medical of the ammunition of war, even where they were used, in particular around Verdun, of Vimy or in the Sum, where the grounds were subjected to a rain fire, of iron and lead during several months sometimes. Neither in agricultural medium, nor in forest or urban medium, there seems to have been serious scientific evaluation, not more than of management of the ecological impacts related to toxicity of heavy metals or components of the ammunition of the " large guerre". Some indices however show that the agricultural world suspected as of the years the 1920 risks related to heavy metals (cf for example precautions taken at the time of the installation of the first industrial pigsty in red zone close to Verdun shortly after the war).

The first work published on this subject in France dates only from end of the year 90 or the beginning of the 21e century.

The nature and the pH of the ground have a great importance for the mobility and the biodisponibility of these metals. By chance, the majority of the zones of combat presented grounds famous limestones not very favourable with the fast circulation of toxic metals.

The fire hazard and erosion are also to take into account.

The mushrooms are a factor of Biomagnification transfer of the pollutants which could be very underestimated. In particular they could accelerate the transfer of metals such as mercury towards the trees and unquestionable animal (of which the Sanglier S).

Risks related to the ageing of the or not exploded not-drawn ammunition

(This paragraph includes the ammunition lost or stored for a secondary treatment).

These ammunition or machines are a durable potential source of diffusion of poisons and pollutants in the environment. The risk and the danger of exposure of the Man and the Environment to these poisons increase with time.

Since 1946, states, organizations, fishermen or ONG alert periodically on the gravity of this risk, but there still do not exist strategies commune nor consensual concerning the impacts, knowledge, the follow-up, management and to become to it ammunition hidden, lost, and considerable stocks of shell and ammunition dispersed in the environment, but still potentially active for decades, even of the centuries when preserved safe from the air and corrosion.

In the majority of the European countries of the engines of wars not exploded (except landmines) but always operating condition are daily updated or detected… They regularly cause the death or of the body wounds by perforation, amputation, wrenching or effect of shock, but also deafness, blindness, serious burns, without speaking about the psychological traumatism. In Kosovo, 2/3 of the victims of the nonexposed machines are children. In Kampuchea, according to AeDe, the children are 3 times plus victims of not exploded weapons that mines! Shell, mortars, grenades, rockets, bombs and " under-munitions" exits of bombs of plane of the type cluster or to exempt remain a permanent threat, even decades after the conflicts. Locally, up to 1/3 of the bombs of the type cluster or " bombelettes" are still active. On certain “soft” grounds (vases, peats, mud, sediments, wetlands) of many machines did not explode (up to 80% on certain sites of 14-18). In the cold and little oxygenated vases or with great depth the ammunition and certain chemical agents can be preserved much longer than exposed at the air or in sub-surface, which does not mean that they lose of their toxicity. In the ex-USSR which contributed much to the arms race at the time of the cold war, the risks for the environment and of loss of the " memory of the faits" are raised, including concerning the nuclear weapons. But elsewhere information remains far from available, and it seems that in Belgium, one forgot during at least 20 years the immersed deposit of Zeebrugge.

Particular cases

The sea is not the only field concerned, the ammunition voluntarily immersed in certain lakes, ponds, ditches, etc (in France with Jardel, in a pit, or the Lake Avrillet, or in Switzerland for example) after the 2 last world wars or more recently were it in sometimes large quantity and without the least impact study. It is probable that the cycle of the poisons out of fresh water and very confined medium strongly differs from what it is at sea. In the same way at sea, a deposit of sub-surface (as in Belgium) will probably not behave like a deposit with great depth, or will develop different impacts.

Yperite

The Ypérite is the poison more used in 14-18, gas with the free air, it is liquid and transforms into a substance sticking and thick in lower part 6°C, in particular in sea-beds where it can take the appearance of an oil wafer. This compound remains very stable and reactive as long as it did not evaporate. The yperite stored in terrestrial installations lasting more than 80 years remained perfectly active and could seems it to remain it after more than 50 years under water. In sea water it can be confused with oil and expose fishermen, pollute a fished fish stock or burn bathers or residents.

Impacts differed on health?

Myles KEHOE quotes a military chemist who, in 1946, in an press article, explained that the gas of immersed stocks was going to escape slowly and that it would not be harmful for the fishermen nor for fish. At the time, he adds, one was unaware of that the components of yperite have the capacity to bind in an irreversible way with the DNA and to put out of order its normal functioning, and that they can predispose with cancer a person who would have been exposed there or cause congenital anomalies in his/her children. It is besides this same capacity to destroy the DNA which did one of the first substances tested of them to destroy the cancerous tumors (with platinum).

The sedimentation raised in certain lakes and certain marine zones can drown the shells or of the containers of poisons of combat under the mud, or other waste (8000 containers of English radioactive waste were immersed in the Fosse of Casquets which contained already a bed of ammunition of the Second world war). The ammunition are then not easily locatable by a camera-robot underwater or other materials. The modern vases are often abnormally rich in organic matters and low in oxygen. They can preserve active ammunition lasting of the decades, even of the centuries (and also to support the methylation of mercury). In the event of escape or accident, yperite or other poisons, and their toxic products of degradation can disperse in the surrounding or subjacent sediments, exposing directly the flat fish, the digger animals. The metabolites of marine organizations can in their turn being contaminated (the mucus of the Arénicole S or Néréïs (towards excavating sand or the mud in the search of their food which gets rid of part of their toxins via their Mucus by ex) It is that in the Pas-de-Calais, of the significant amounts of flat fish present tumors of the ventral face with very abnormal frequencies. (Of Boulogne-sur-Mer up to the level of the Baie of Canche, in the north of the Estuaire of the Somme where one during several decades made pétarder the chemical weapons found by the bomb disposal experts of the area). What would it occur for fish, the marine mammals, the residents, the fishermen in the event of yperite migration in the sediments?

According to the Canadian ministry of the environment: " Once the inventory will be finished, an evaluation of each site could be carried out, on the plan of the risks for the human health and the écologiques" risks; …/. An initial meeting was held on May 21st, 2002 with the MDN with the ministry for Fishings and the Oceans, Environnement Canada and Natural resources Canada to discuss this problem (in answer to a petition). The discharge at sea of chemical and biological agents of war is interdict in Canada since 1975. Since this date, Environment Canada with the responsibility lawful to control the activities of discharge at sea. Environnement Canada also ensures the monitoring of the sites of immersion at sea under the terms of the Canadian Law on environmental protection.

New risk factors?

preliminary Remark : By chance, the majority of the zones terrestrial concerned in Europe are with weak fire hazard (what could change with the climatic modifications), and the grounds are there often with dominant limestones whereas in fact the acid grounds accelerate the corrosion and the circulation of heavy metals, while increasing the bio-availability of the latter). The topic of the risks for water or was not very taken little into account during the application in the course of the European directive on water.

Several phenomena cross, exacerbating the risks related to the objects explosive and/or toxic bequeathed by the guerres.
Ce are in particular (nonexhaustive list):

The projection of corrosion

The more time passes, the more degradation of the chemical shell and the Amorce S (container of the Fulminate of mercury, of toxic lead salts.) allows that their toxic contents can be spread in the environment in very pure and concentrated chemical forms, seldom or far from present in natural environment.

Extent and the increasing influence of the maritime activities

… which increases the risk of direct contact or update of dangerous objects and acceleration of corrosion by modification of the currents. The activities concerned are in particular:

- fishing on deep seas (with the Saber, Pomegranate, Emperor…),

- installation of cables (electric, telephone, fiberoptic.),

- activities of prospection or exploitation (oil and gas, and more rarely mineral (underwater gravel pits, exploitation of polymetallic nodules),

- offshore oil rig installation of wind mills or turbines with currents,

- the construction of stoppings, locks, pipelines, platform of drilling, construction of bridges (ex between Denmark and Sweden)

- and other underwater activities…

As example, during construction by Mobil Oil of the corridor of the pipeline Venture off the coast of News Scotland (Canada) in 1983, of the studies of the ocean floor revealed on this occasion the presence of a historic site of immersion of military material, which involved a modification of the route of the pipeline. The Warfare Agent Disposal Project (Project of elimination of the agents of war) aims to Canada with in particular " to detect, characterize and catalog these old sites of military immersion of material ". Research on the cleaning and the elimination of the chemicals in question must be undertaken by qualified professionals of the Canadian Armed forces. The historical inventory of the sites of immersion to which the MDN proceeded with an interdepartmental work group. in 2002 “should lead to a better knowledge of these factors”.

Increased frequentation of the littorals, the seas and the wrecks

An increased number people are thus exposed. The number of people living the littorals, attending its beaches, practitioner the diving or sailing for their leisures has not ceased increasing for 60 years. It would be advisable at sea to study the possibility of the risk of escapes of poisons, and to better inform the actors of the littoral if these studies already or at least exist to maintain a day before more organized and multi-field. Scientific, archaeological activities and of deep-sea diving, or leisure (anchoring of fishing or pleasure boats, fishes with foot…) can sometimes also be concerned.

Climatic modifications

They increase the fire hazard, will modify the sea level and are likely to lead to important modifications of marine currents (of which Gulf Stream) and at a frequency and an increased violence of the storms and cyclones. The solution consisting in burying a deposit under an artificial island must be studied by taking account of these parameters.

Ex: These last years, supplies or updates by the storms, more than 1.000 parts of ammunition failed on the coasts at sea of Ireland. The Irish coastal Guard must supervise the beaches of the country regularly.

One already observes “indices of changes in oceanic circulation and the characteristics of the water masses”. And zone OSPAR seems overall to be heated, even if the temperature locally lowered the sub-polar North Atlantic, between Greenland and Iceland (Read and Gould, 1992, taken again by OSPAR). The volume of Atlantic water which penetrates in the Arctic increases and the temperature of deep water of the sea of Norway increased. The overflow with the underwater peak Iceland-Scotland also seems to evolve/move. According to the CIEM (Assessment on the state of the climate of the oceans), of the relatively high temperatures characterized the North Atlantic in the years 1990. Acidification of the oceans induced by the increase in the rates of CO₂ of the air, or its warming (less oxygen) make the futurology in the long run delicate.

Frequency of immersion and nature of the products

In the world, since 7 or 8 decades, the immersion of ammunition and waste at sea and in the lakes was attends, often associating a great diversity of waste sometimes with long life of life (radioactive in particular) and likely to migrate and interact between them after délitement or degradation of packing or containers.

Interactions and synergies?

In the deep pits, one cannot exclude that chemical reactions produced by the mixture of various immersed waste can release from heat and make go up undesirable substances towards surface or of the currents which would bring them towards the littoral or of the fishing zones, spawning grounds, etc

Ageing of the wrecks

Thousands of tons of ammunition are imprisoned in the Baltic in the wreck of voluntarily cast ships after war. Enough time passed so that the first of these carcasses of break down on themselves (75 wrecks approximately exist in Handle/the North Sea of which oldest crumbled, but they are exposed to currents plus violent one).

Attraction of the marine organizations

Any object or structure posed on sea-bed constitutes an attraction for many fish and watery organizations fixed or mobile (" effect; reef artificiel").

Accessibility with fauna

It is known now that to nourish, from many fish, birds (penguins, penguins, certain marine ducks), and marine mammals (cachalot in particular) go down to depths much more important than than one thought possible 10 years ago. They can also consume fish contaminated in deep seas when the latter go up more close to surface.

Accessibility with the Man

Zones which one had judged there are 60 or 80 years rather deep or enough distant to be definitively with the shelter of the human activities became actually very accessible and are the subject of trawling, or activities which increase the risk of contact with ammunition or their contents. Moreover, because of the exhaustion of other stocks and thanks to the subsidies granted by the communities and the scientific support of organizations, deep water fishing is now largely practiced with powerful means. In the same time of many funds are degraded by the trawls on the continental shelf, weakening the capacity of cicatrization of the ecosystems.

The port activities, digging of channels, dredgings, dammings up, construction of ears modify also the currents and can update of the objects or sites at the risks.

Erosion of the feature of coast

On zones now tourist, where the military presence was important (ex Nord of the estuary of the Sum or Canche (where a camp of drive accommodated to 80.000 people into 14-18), beaches of Oye-beach or Wissant for the Nord/Pas-de-Calais Area, the retreat of the feature of coast touches 75% of the littoral and can reach nearly 10 m/an, with a persistent risk of update of dangerous objects.

Bioconcentration

The marine ecosystems are known to be particularly powerful as regards Bioconcentration and Biomagnification (ex for the Méthyl mercury). The moulds and oysters quickly can and easily to concentrate atrate reaching 700.000 times at 1 million times the products if not very present in the water which they are undetectable by the traditional means of analysis.

Terrestrial work at the risks

On ground, great work (ex: TGV Paris-Lille, A1 highway, projects of have 21, TGV-Are and Channel Seine-North), are done or were done on zones at the risk of which in " zone rouge") In the same way, husbandries and urban supporting the streaming and the erosion of the grounds necessitate frequent clearings out of the rivers. These clearings out, as besides the settings with large gauge reinforce the risk of contact with lost engines of wars or toxic sediments.
Sur ground, husbandries (increasingly powerful tractors, clearing, ploughings major, subsoiling, drainage, removal of the slopes. retreat of the pastures to the profit of the ploughing, etc) are as much of factor exacerbating the risk.
Idem for the very mechanized forest practices sometimes (ploughing, subsoiling, drainage, earthwork…). The forests are already mediums which accumulated much lead-metal resulting from the wars and hunting. Some, known as “forests of guerr” were planted on grounds upset by the shells and bombs (in the Meuse in particular). The weaknesses of the follow-up of the products resulting from the forests from the point of view “heavy metals”, whereas the forest covers 40% of the territory of the EU, shows also an absence of awakening of the risk.

Marine and underwater work

The echolocation and the sounders used for the cartography of sea-beds (or at the time of studies for oil drillings) use powerful acoustic waves (exceeding the threshold of the pain of the human beings and for much of marine animals). Some wonder about the possible effect of these waves on shells or containers which already would be very eroded, in sea-beds where they are subjected to a strong pressure; The gas pipes (Baltic project), the bridges (Denmark-Sweden bridges), the installation of underwater cables, the offshore oil rig construction of wind mills or powerplants with waves, etc are additional risk factors.

Notice on the localization of the risks and dangers

In many places of the world, mines, explosive devices, chemical weapons or explosives were stored and sometimes oubliées.
One thinks naturally of the battle fields, but are also sometimes concerned the places of manufacture of weapons, ammunition or explosives (AZF Toulouse) or of sites of exercises (lakes, shooting on target at sea) are also sometimes very concerned, on zones sometimes very far away from the zones of war. Thus, for example, on the Peninsula of Seward, in Alaska, the local populations discovered metal boxes of yperite with half hidden in the tundra (very acid medium generally, rich in lichens and mushrooms, grazed by the reindeers, dashes and caribous, favourable with the circulation of heavy metals and the contamination of the trophic networks). The populations autochtones also discovered there batteries in corrosion in rivers where they draw their drinking water for their camps of fishing, the summer, as well as vehicles thrown to the reject by the American army.
Enfin, this type of ammunition is still used (cf photograph opposite)

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