HELCOM Executive Secretary Anne Christine Brusendorff interview with Deutsche Welle Radio on WWII chemical munitions dumped in the Baltic Sea

Worries about Baltic chemical soup unfounded

After the Second World War, the Allied forces dumped almost 300,000 tons of chemical weapons in and near the Baltic Sea. Between 1945 and 1948, at least 26 and maybe as many as 60 German merchant ships filled with chemical weapons were sunk in water no deeper than half a mile. Although fishing is not allowed in these areas, the weapons have drifted across the sea floor. No one has been hurt so far, but there have been cases where fishermen pulled up mustard gas in their nets. John Hay of Deutsche Welle Radio spoke with Anne Christine Brusendorff, Executive Secretary of the Helsinki Commission, and asked her first to what extent these chemicals pose a threat to the ecology of the region?

Listen to the audio file

Follow-up: HELCOM press release