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Resolution 1612 (2008)
Chemical munitions buried in the Baltic Sea
1. The Allies (the United States of
America, the United Kingdom, France and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR)) inherited chemical munitions that had not been used by Germany
during the Second World War. These stocks amounted to a total of
approximately 300 000 tonnes, some 65 000 tonnes of which were harmful
military substances – including 39% of yperite (mustard gas), 18%
of tabun (a nerve agent), 11% of tear gas and 9% of phosgene (a
choking chemical agent). In all there were 14 kinds of hazardous
chemical agents.
2. At the 1945 Potsdam Conference, the Allies decided to transport
the chemical munitions to the Atlantic Ocean and dump them in deep
sites. The task was shared between the Allies, according to each
one’s capacity. The United Kingdom received approximately 65 000
tonnes, the USSR received 35 000 tonnes and the remainder was left
to the United States.
3. The requirement in the agreement to transport the chemical
munitions by boat to the Atlantic Ocean and dump them at depths
of more than 1 000 metres was not complied with. It is now known
that the chemical munitions were dumped in the North Sea and the
Baltic Sea, at depths of sometimes only tens of metres.
4. The Allies agreed to classify this information and not to
make it public for fifty years. In 1997 the Ministry of Defence
of the United Kingdom and the US Department of Defense extended
for a further twenty years the classified status for information
relating to the data on the operations carried out between 1946
and 1947. Regrettably, international law does not at present oblige
states to provide detailed information on the location of dumped
chemical munitions.
5. It is therefore extremely difficult to determine the current
condition of these chemical munitions and the risks that they pose
to the marine environment.
6. The Parliamentary Assembly recalls in this context Recommendation 1571 (2002) on reducing environmental risks by destroying chemical
weapons and Resolution
1295 (2002) on the state of the environment of the Baltic Sea, both
texts referring, inter alia, to chemical munitions dumped in the
Baltic Sea after the Second World War.
7. It also recalls the Baltic Assembly’s recommendation on observation
of chemical munitions dumped into the Baltic Sea (2003) and its
resolution on the dangers connected with the construction of the
gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea (2005), as well as the appeals made
by the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference as part of the resolutions
adopted at Reykjavik in 2006 and Berlin in 2007, for an evaluation
of the feasibility of the gas pipeline that is both transparent
and in compliance with international obligations, and for an environmental impact
assessment study of the project.
8. The greatest contribution to the studies on the current condition
of the dumped chemical munitions was made by the Baltic Marine Environment
Protection Commission (the Helsinki Commission, HELCOM). The report
published in 1995 provides an analysis of the kinds and amounts
of dumped chemical munitions and specifies the dumping areas, the
characteristics of the chemical munitions and their present condition
as well as possible threats to the environment and human health
posed by them. It also contains guidelines and recommendations to
fishermen on their conduct upon encountering chemical munitions
at sea.
9. HELCOM believes that chemical munitions should not be retrieved
from the bottom of the sea and should remain where they are. The
majority of experts who have studied the issue also share this opinion.
10. The Assembly draws attention to the current plan to construct
a gas pipeline on the seabed of the Baltic Sea, linking the Russian
Federation to Germany, which may pose new and considerable dangers.
The construction company claims that the chosen route for the gas
pipeline and its actual construction will not in any way affect
the possible munitions present along the route, and that the gas
pipeline will be constantly monitored even after it has become operational.
11. The Assembly regrets that no detailed study on the dumping
sites of chemical munitions and their current condition were carried
out before the decision was made to construct the gas pipeline.
12. The Assembly recalls that all Baltic states recognise the
importance of the problem of dumped chemical munitions in the Baltic
Sea. They are currently undertaking surveillance and research operations,
as far as financial and scientific resources allow, and are taking
part in international projects. Indeed, international co-operation
is vital for solving the problem.
13. The Assembly encourages European countries – above all those
which will benefit from the construction of the gas pipeline – to
demonstrate genuine solidarity, including from the financial point
of view, with the Baltic riparian states, which do not necessarily
have sufficient resources to deal with environmental problems.
14. The Assembly points out that the Espoo Convention on Environmental
Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context obliges the parties
to evaluate at the planning stage the impact on the environment
of certain activities, and to notify and consult on any project
that is likely to have an adverse transboundary impact on the environment.
15. The Assembly welcomes the fact that since November 2005, the
international project financed by the European Union, “Modelling
of ecological risks related to sea-dumped chemical weapons” (MERCW),
has been in development. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Latvia
and the Russian Federation are among the participants in the project,
which aims to study chemical munitions dumping sites in the Baltic
Sea and to assess the resulting risks for marine ecosystems and
human health.
16. The Assembly therefore invites the member states and observers
of the Council of Europe to:
16.1. strengthen
co-operation to find a global solution to the problem of dumped
chemical munitions on the Baltic seabed;
16.2. draw up specific action plans to locate every site where
chemical munitions have been dumped;
16.3. take the necessary measures to monitor chemical munitions
dumping sites on an ongoing basis in order to prevent any danger
to the environment;
16.4. decide on precise measures for immediate implementation
in the event of chemical munitions causing a danger to the environment;
16.5. take every precaution in the construction of the gas pipeline
on the Baltic seabed;
16.6. undertake a reliable assessment of environmental risks,
especially those resulting from the presence of chemical munitions
along the gas pipeline route.
17. To this end, the Assembly urges the United Kingdom and United
States governments and NATO to declassify immediately military information
on the location of all chemical munitions dumping sites present
in the Baltic Sea.