Ocean disposal In 1972, the United States Congress banned the practice of disposing chemical weapons into the ocean. Thirty-two thousand tons of nerve and mustard agents had already been dumped into the ocean waters off the United States by the U.S. Army, primarily as part of Operation CHASE. According to a 1998 report by William Brankowitz, a deputy project manager in the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, the Army created at least 26 chemical weapons dump sites in the ocean off at least 11 states on both the west and east coasts. Due to poor records, they currently only know the rough whereabouts of half of them. There is currently a lack of scientific data regarding the ecological and health effects of this dumping. In the event of leakage, many nerve agents are soluble in water and would dissolve in a few days, while other substances like sulfur mustard could last longer. There have also been a few incidents of chemical weapons washing ashore or being accidentally retrieved, for example during dredging or trawl fishing operations.
Ocean disposal In 1972, the United States Congress banned the practice of .disposing chemical weapons into the ocean. Thirty-two thousand tons of nerve and mustard agents had alr.eady been dumped into the ocean waters off the United States by the US Army, primarily as part of Operation CHASE. According to a 1998 report by William Brankowitz, a deputy project manager in the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency, the Army created at least 26 chemical weapons dump sites in the ocean off at least 11 states on both the west and east coasts. Due to poor records, they currently only know the rough whereabouts of half of them. There is currently a lack of scientific data regarding the ecological and health effects of this dumping. In the event of leakage, many nerve agents are soluble in water and would dissolve in a few day.s, while other substances like sulfur mustard could last longer. There have also been a few incidents of chemical weapons washing ashore or being accidentally retrieved, for example during dredging or trawl fishing operations