6 - Introduction to Underwater Unexploded Ordnance and Its Impact on the Environment

Abstract

Underwater ordnance has existed since the beginning of ordnance. Unexploded ordnance (UXO) is inherently dangerous to humans and the environment, for its explosive hazard, for exposure to its toxic munitions and explosive constituents (MEC), and for acute exposure to chemical warfare material (CWM). Underwater UXO presents a unique set of problems and realities involving human contact and the environment. There are three primary ways that ordnance ends up underwater: dumping, firing or bombing, and sinking of war or supply ships. A variety of metal detectors can be used for wide-area assessments. Even low level toxins from underwater munitions can escalate up the food chain. The large fish, often most desirable for fishermen to catch, can have the most contamination. Leakage of munitions constituents is usually the result of corrosion of the shell or bomb casing or skin. Pinhole leaks on the other hand allow some agents like mustard and Lewisite to polymerize. Thus, they form a tarry product which lasts for many years. The tar can cause the same type of skin damage that the agent can cause in the air.