Massachusetts Fishermen sickened by canisters of possible mustard gas

[Lone_Star_Dem]

NEW BEDFORD, Mass., June 8 (UPI) -- Four commercial fishermen were treated at Massachusetts hospitals after dredging up canisters that may have contained a nerve agent, authorities said.

The men were dredging for clams Sunday from the ESS Pursuit when they pulled up several canisters off Long Island in New York.

The crew threw the foot-long canisters back after noticing that one of them was cracked and leaking, said crew member Kevin O'Sullivan, 33, of New Bedford.

Hours later, O'Sullivan began to suffer shortness of breath and the skin of three other crew members began to blister, South Coast Today reported Tuesday. All four men were in good condition Monday, hospital officials said.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/06/08/Fishermen-sickened-by-canisters/UPI-51471276003884/

I wonder how many more are down there leaking.

[dgibby]

1. My dad's brother died from complications of mustard gas poisioning.

He's buried at Arlington. Horrible stuff, horrible effects, horrible death.

[arcadian]

2. There is unexploded ordinance all over the place off the coasts of the US

Out of sight out of mind.

[Winterblues]

3. Why would there be ordinance with mustard gas inside off Mass?

Who would have fired such ordinance, and for what purpose?

[sharp_stick]

4. It's probably dumped

The military used to dump all kinds of ordinance in the oceans. Out of sight out of mind... They seemed to think that it won't do us any more harm it's 400 feet or more under water.

Up until the 70's or so, all kinds of shit, military and industrial was just dumped into the oceans and lakes.

[Blue_Tires]

10. yeah, i never failed to be shocked at

how callous and ignorant people could be over the decades in how carelessly they could dispose of toxic substances or invasive species...

sooner or later, it ALWAYS comes back to bite us

[freethought]

7. It's probably been there for years

I tend to doubt that the stuff is something recent and has probably been sitting under the sand for years.
Many people don't tend to equate the Massachusetts coast with military activity but there used to be quite the presence in earlier years.
Out on Cape Cod there was Otis Air Force Base. It was small as AFBs go but it remained active through to the late eighties I believe. Planes and jets used to make a quick flight up to Wellfleet harbor, way out on the arm of Cape Cod, to an old freighter that was purposefully grounded. There, they would use the old ship in target practice. I guess some of it is still left. It's popular spot with kayakers now. There were a number of other bases from the WWII era.
I would like to know how old the canisters were. I would guess that they are at least from the Vietnam era, likely older and were probably dumped to get rid off them. Occasionally in Europe they still turn up old ordinance from WWI and WWII that is still in good shape, often dangerously so. Even in those days even military ordinance was built to last. Go figure.

Like I said, people really don't associate the state of Massachusetts with military bases. But we still have a few. Hanscom AFB is closely tied with R&D done at labs affiliated with M.I.T. Out in the western part of the state we've got Westover AFB, a place where they fly those big C-5A cargo planes. We used to have Ft. Devens, an army base that was home to a special forces unit.

[FarCenter]

9. I think Otis was active until a few years ago

IIRC, F-15s were dispatched from Otis on 9/11 -- way too late of course.

It is still be an Air National Guard base.

[arcadian]

8. They were dumped there mostly

Look at any NOAA chart and you will see "obstructions and spoil areas" if there is ordinance it will say it on the chart and usually it will say what type of ordinance, depth charges, torpedoes, rockets, whatever, I guess some might be from WWII when the coast line was essentially a battlefield.

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/weeklynews/dec08/uxo.html

NOS Team Wins Top Award with Method to Map Underwater Unexploded Ordnance

[era veteran]

5. We have thousands of them & nerve gas leaking in wet igloos a few miles

from us at the Bluegrass Army Depot near Richmond.......'Years ago the designer of these old cold war weapons replied how were they meant to be destroyed and he replied Shoot Them.' ........http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=154x2201

[gratuitous]

6. Well, sure, canisters of mustard gas

Still causing problems 80 years later. But don't you worry! We'll safely dispose of waste from nuclear power plants - nobody will get sick or die from that until well after the statute of limitations passes for any legal liability to accrue to the people who bury/sink/secret/hide/dispose of that stuff.

[Javaman]

11. Probably tens of thousands...

the US dumps most if not all their chem weapons in the ocean after WW1.

[Froward69]

12. Just last week a 500 pounder from WWII detonated

in Germany.

When I was a Kid I was out dirt biking on the old Lowery Bomb range. (supposed to have been cleared years ago.) I found a live one. my brother and I brought it back to the car and our Mom freaked out. the bomb squad appeared and they defused it.
Then telling us kids how "Damned lucky we were."