Offshore oil drilling could disrupt chemical weapons off N.J. coast

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

If New Jersey allows drilling for oil and natural gas off its coast, it may dredge up an ugly and dangerous past.

The U.S. Army has admitted to dumping 64 million pounds of chemical weapons into U.S. waters from World War I until the early 1970s.

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Chemical agents such as mustard gas, sarin gas, arsenic, cyanide and VX nerve gas were all dumped off the Atlantic Coast, raising questions about safety and the volatility of weapons in those dumpsites.

"If you put an oil platform on top of one of those piles, it will be a concern. You don't want to be on a platform on top of this stuff," said Richard Albright, of Grasonville, Md., an environmental health scientist, lawyer and author of "Cleanup of Chemical and Explosive Munitions."

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The lack of coordinates for most of the disposal sites, and the possibility that ocean currents may have moved the weapons beyond the dump areas, makes finding the weapons difficult at best if not impracticable in some cases.

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When it comes to seismic testing in oil exploration, Albright said, if a significant charge is used in an area where weapons are located it could open up weapons and possibly wash them onto shore.

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Beginning in 1957, 48 one-ton containers of lewisite were dumped off the coast of New Jersey; in 1967 4,577 one-ton containers of mustard agent and 7,380 M55 sarin gas rockets in concrete vaults were dumped there. According to the report, the next year 38 one-ton containers of sarin gas and VX nerve gas were dumped, as well as 1,460 vaults of M55 sarin gas and VX rockets and 120 drums of arsenic and cyanide canisters.

Rupturing a gas such as sarin could definitely be a threat to people working in the area, Albright said.

"This could be a threat to the guys who may be breathing it before they even know it," he said.

But it's not just chemical weapons that are of concern, according to Albright. The Army also dumped tons of explosive munitions in the waters of the Atlantic Coast.

"If they were drilling down and hit, say, a 200 mm shell, they could have a real environmental disaster on their hands," he said.

Albright said mustard, which is most likely in a liquid form, presents a big problem for fishermen because like lewisite, it polymerizes and turns into a tar-like substance.

Most nerve agents are soluble and dissolve in water within a few days, the report states. But agents such as sulphur mustard in liquid or solid form turns into an encrusted gel when released in seawater and can persist in that form for many years before degrading. Albright said this could be poisonous to fish.

Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action in Sandy Hook, said seismic activity offshore could expedite the failure and leakage of chemical weapons.

"Our ocean floor is littered with chemical weapons. We're talking about significant sonar pulses, and we don't know what they would do during the testing stage," she said. "All of those canisters have been rotting away, and poking around could have catastrophic results on releasing 64 million pounds of chemical weapons."

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"The story is so alarming and scary some people don't want to know, but that's not acceptable. We need to know," Zipf said. "It's like Russian roulette out there, depending on where they want to drill. It just makes no economic or environmental sense."

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/184/v-p...ory/289801.html

[spookyturtle 9,466]

It's worth it to get the oil. What's a little nerve gas in the ocean going to hurt?

[bhajishah 4]

darn and i went swimming off Atlantic city coast..

[spookyturtle 9,466]

darn and i went swimming off Atlantic city coast..

Have you started growing any extra limbs?

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

We get it... you don't like drilling but like oil.

[Teacher Mark 53]

Come on, it's Jersey! What's another toxic cloud going to do?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

If NJ goes for Obama, I say fold the coast over onto it.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Come on, it's Jersey! What's another toxic cloud going to do?

excellent point, since this is the same state (in)famous for "Love Canal"

[natty bumppo 297]

Come on, it's Jersey! What's another toxic cloud going to do?

excellent point, since this is the same state (in)famous for "Love Canal"

The "New" part is correct ... the Jersey part isn't ...

The famous Love Canal neighborhood is located in Niagara Falls, New York

Love Canal

[Danno 1,228]

As I understand it, when the drilling begins, each state will reap an individual benefit.

It would be just like NJ to allow some far fetched remote possibility to stop them from taking advantage of this opportunity.

I grew up in NJ and left because of the way things are done there when dealing with the Govt at all levels.... Love the people though!

[Mononoke28 137]

I don't think anybody cares about NJ. Even Tori Spelling thought it was the capital of New York.

Diana

[natty bumppo 297]

If New Jersey allows drilling for oil and natural gas off its coast, it may dredge up an ugly and dangerous past.

drilling and dredging ... two different technologies

the writer doesn't know much about off shore platforms and exploration ...

(hint: the equipment used on the sea floor is kinda expensive ... think the companies will make sure the floor is clear before placing the equipment there?)

[AlHayatZween 2]

A la gran puchica,

how come whenever it comes to chemical dumping and destruction of the universe,

it always has to happen in Jersey?

And damn, i was going to encourage my Habib to apply for one of those jobs....

[spookyturtle 9,466]

Isn't Newark referred to as the cesspool of America?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Isn't Newark referred to as the cesspool of America?

I haven't heard that, but it would be a well deserved label.

Of course, there's so much more to NJ than Newark. From the toxic chemical factory sites of Elizabeth to the nerve gas tinged waters off Sandy Hook, to the arsenic-laced streams in the Highlands....