The US dumped an estimated 17,000 tons of unspent WWI and WWII chemical weapons into the Atlantic Ocean before 1970, and commercial fishermen are still paying for it.
Between 2016 and 2023, at least three incidents off the New Jersey coast resulted in six crew members being exposed to mustard agent pulled up in fishing nets. The cases were documented this week in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. One crew member needed emergency overnight care for respiratory distress and second-degree burns. Another required skin grafting and physical therapy after a burn center stay.
The report is worth reading in full not for its conclusions, but for what it reveals about the gap between a mid-20th century disposal policy and the total absence of any modern warning or detection system protecting workers on the water today.
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