Researchers have found at least 10 sites in the Baltic Sea believed to contain World War II-era chemical weapons, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, April 20).
An expedition using the Russian ship Shelf found an atypical chemical composition of seabed waters near Denmark, which suggests toxic-filled munitions could exist at the site. The mission, which ended yesterday, is the first component of an international effort to study chemical weapons in the Baltic Sea.
“The first international expedition was a success. Under the project we will travel to the Bornholm Cavity, to the Gotland Cavity in Latvian territorial waters and to the Skaggerakk Straits in Swedish territorial waters,” said Vadim Paka, director of the Atlantic Department at the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology.
Researchers from Germany, Belgium, Finland Denmark, Russia and Latvia are expected to work on the three-year-long project (Interfax, Aug. 3).