Chemical Weapons Burial Sites: Risks, If Any, Remain Unknown

After years of environmental research on chemical weapons, much remains unknown about potential hazards lurking at the bottom of the world’s seas and oceans and in burial pits across the country.

After World War II, roughly a quarter of a million tons of captured Nazi chemical weapons were dumped into the Baltic Sea in an operation known as “Davy Jones’ Locker.” An unknown quantity of U.S. chemical weapons was dumped into virtually every ocean in the world until 1970.

The largest single dump was made off the coast of San Francisco. The Navy scuttled the liberty ship William Ralston along with 1,478 tons of bulk mustard gas and 301,000 mustard bombs loaded in the ship’s hold.

“None of these activities would be satisfactory today, but this is the history,” said Army chemical engineer Bill Brankowitz, who has begun to compile information about the sea dumping.

No monitoring of the known sea burial sites has occurred for two decades. Five years of monitoring after the last dump showed no leakage or impact on marine life, Brankowitz said.

Most of the munitions were dumped in deep water, and the Army believes that seawater will neutralize the chemical agents.

But Army critics, such as the Chemical Weapons Working Group, say it could take decades for the munitions to leak and that they represent an unknown hazard.

A 1969 report by the National Academy of Sciences recommended an end to sea burial and said the long-term effects of it were not fully understood. Little research has been conducted since.

Much the same is true for chemical weapons buried underground. A 1993 Army report, now being updated, has identified 215 burial sites in the United States, including Ft. Ord, Sonoma Municipal Airport, Mt. Shasta and Edwards Air Force Base in California. Most sites pose no public health or safety risk.

But in 1982, workers installing a sewage line at the Sonoma Municipal Airport were overcome by a cloud of white smoke. Several weeks later, chemical weapon ampuls, once used for training, were found. The Army has since recommended that all excavation in the area be avoided.