CHEMICAL WEAPONS IN THE BALTIC SEA: POTENTIAL THREATS TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH; COMPLETED AND UPCOMING TASKS ON THE WAY TO SOLVING THE PROBLEM

Abstract

A brief overview of potential threats from chemical weapons (CW) dumped in the Baltic Sea is presented. The most common, long-acting and dangerous chemical warfare agents (CWAs) are those that are persistent in the marine environment. The main mechanisms of the transfer of CWAs from dumpsites to other areas of the Baltic Sea are considered. It is noted that the risk of acute effects on biota and humans of CWAs migrating in the form of polluted particulate suspended matter and polluting the sea bottom at large distances from dumpsites is negligible, but with regard to the harmfulness of CWAs entering the food chain, additional studies of their mutagenic and carcinogenic effects are needed. A step-by-step path for the development of complex research on the problem, the tasks of the stages and the role of international cooperation in their solution are presented. The need to continue field studies is substantiated to complete the mapping of dumped CW and monitoring areas of secondary contamination of the seabed, while attention should be paid to the identification of potentially hazardous underwater objects based on a complete chemical analysis of samples taken near the discovered artefacts. If it is impossible to cooperate with Western partners, Russia must find its own forces and means to complete the research in full.