VERIFIN, Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, A.I. Virtasen Aukio 1, 00014, University of Helsinki, Finland.
FOI, CBRN-Defence & Security, The Swedish Defense Research Agency, Cementvägen 20, SE-901 82, Umeå, Sweden.
Mar Environ Res. 2020 Oct;161:105112. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105112. Epub 2020 Aug 15.
About 50 000 tons of chemical weapons (CW) were dumped to the Baltic Sea after the Second World War. Munitions are located in the deep areas of the Baltic Sea, and there they act as a point source of contamination to the ecosystem. Corroded munitions release chemical warfare agents (CWAs) to nearby water and sediments. In this study we investigated known dumpsites (Bornholm, Gotland and Gdansk Deep) and dispersed chemical munitions, to evaluate the extent of contamination of nearby sediments, as well as to assess the degradation process of released CWA. It was found that CWA-related phenylarsenic chemicals (Clark I, Clark II and Adamsite) and sulfur mustard are released to the sediments and undergo environmental degradation to chemicals, of which some remain toxic. The extent of pollution of released CWAs and their corresponding degradation products reaches more than 250 m from the CW objects, and seem to follow a power curve decrease of concentration from the source. Bornholm Deep is characterised with the highest concentration of CWAs in sediments, but occasional concentration peaks are also observed in the Gdansk Deep and close to dispersed munitions. Detailed investigation of spreading pattern show that the range of pollution depends on bottom currents and topography.
约 5 万吨化学武器（CW）在第二次世界大战后被倾倒到波罗的海。弹药位于波罗的海的深水区，在那里它们成为生态系统污染的点源。腐蚀的弹药将化学战剂（CWA）释放到附近的水和沉积物中。在这项研究中，我们调查了已知的倾倒场（博恩霍尔姆岛、哥特兰岛和格但斯克深水区）和分散的化学弹药，以评估附近沉积物的污染程度，并评估释放的 CWA 的降解过程。结果发现，与 CWA 相关的苯胂化学物质（克拉克 I、克拉克 II 和亚当斯试剂）和硫芥被释放到沉积物中，并经历环境降解为化学物质，其中一些仍具有毒性。从 CW 物体释放的 CWAs 及其相应降解产物的污染程度超过 250 米，并且似乎遵循从源头上浓度递减的幂曲线。博恩霍尔姆深水区的沉积物中 CWA 浓度最高，但在格但斯克深水区和靠近分散弹药的地方也偶尔出现浓度峰值。对扩散模式的详细调查表明，污染范围取决于底部水流和地形。
