Institutions and private companies from Poland, Lithuania, Germany and Sweden are collaborating on a project aimed at reducing pollution from dangerous fuels, ammunition and other remnants found in shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea.
According to the researchers, there are around 20,000 known military and civilian ship wrecks at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. As many as 10 percent of them are polluting the sea with the remains of decomposed ammunition or fuel leakage of carcinogenic pyrolysis oil.
Over 80 years after World War II, hazardous substances such as carcinogenic pyrolytic oil are still seeping from some of these corroded structures.
The three-year-long project, which has been called “Baltwreck” coordinated by the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IMP PAN), involves 14 partners and aims to reduce pollution in the Baltic Sea by removing dangerous fuel, ammunition, and other remains from shipwrecks.
An important aspect of the project is the study of the impact of submerged ammunition on marine ecosystems.
Michał Silarski from the Jagiellonian University’s Department of Experimental Physics of Particles and its Applications is leading efforts to test new methods for detecting hazardous materials in the sea. He has developed a highly-rated project called “Non-invasive sensor for detecting hazardous materials in the aquatic environment,” which has been recognized as the top grant by the Foundation for Polish Science under the First Team initiative.
The sensor operates on the principle of neutron activation of substances and the measurement of characteristic gamma quanta spectra emitted after irradiation with a neutron beam. This method allows for remote chemical composition analysis of a suspicious object without endangering human life or health.
The total project budget is €3.83 million, of which €3.06 million comes from the European Regional Development Fund.
Source:
Nauka w Polsce
https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7786/Artykul/3405208,efforts-underway-to-clean-baltic-sea-of-hazardous-remnants-from-shipwrecks
https://www.tvp.pl/tvp-world/kategorie/society/scientists-embark-on-project-to-reduce-pollution-from-shipwrecks-in-baltic-sea/79405717
