Effects of Wartime Shipwrecks on the Marine Environment Introduction War causes destruction.

This is evident in the most immediate of effects: the shattered trees of the Western Front, the smoldering ruins of Hamburg and Berlin, the human-shadows burned into walls by the first atomic bomb. When a war ends, there is great relief. As far as the average citizen is concerned, the destruction is over. This is not true. Many artifacts of war remain and can cause damage over many years, even centuries, often in ways unexpected and unforeseen. Military shipwrecks fall into this category. Once a vessel sinks, by accident or design, it vanishes from sight and is often assumed to be gone forever, incapable of causing any further trouble. Instead, the wreck sits on the ocean floor for years, leaking whatever poisons or fuel it may have been carrying, dissolving heavy metals into the water, and providing an artificial reef of sorts for local fish and other sea life. This is an important topic of study due to the enormous number of sunken ships in the ocean that may be releasing harmful substances over a span of decades. The cumulative effects are not known, but they could be devastating.

Research Question What effects do sunken wrecks of World War Two have on local marine life? Effects refer here to any change in health, behavior, or habitat of said marine life. Wrecks will be confined to those ships and airplanes sunken during the war, not those purposefully scuttled in an orderly fashion. Marine life includes fish, barnacles, sea anemones, sharks, and other creatures larger than plankton that inhabit an area in or nearby the wreck. The independent variables inherent in this question are the wrecks themselves, their distribution and condition, and the toxins that they may be releasing into nearby waters. The dependent variables are the health, behavior, and habitat of the marine life around these wrecks. Analysis will be conducted on a ship-to-ship basis, the situation of individual examples used to discuss the wider impact. The volumes of oil and other fuels will be related in liters, weights in kilograms or metric tons.

Methods The methods used for the gathering of information are threefold:

First, use of the University of Idaho library system to find general books about marine pollution, shipwrecks, and effects of various toxins on life. Second, searching of web-based scientific journals for more in-depth articles related to the field, such as those specifically referring to WWII shipwrecks and their effects in Micronesia. Third, searching of government, government-affiliated, and non-governmental organization (NGO) websites for useful technical data (such as the site of the Navy salvaging contractor NavSea, which can provide lists of wrecks salvaged and their conditions).

Results All sources agree that wrecks from World War Two are highly toxic, and that they are disintegrating. All shipwrecks fall to pieces in time, from wooden men-of-war to modern steel-hulled vessels, releasing all manner of foreign substances along the way, but vessels of the Second World War can be placed into a special class due to their sheer number: at least 7,807 worldwide, amounting to 34 million tons of shipping. 861 of these are tankers or oilers, each carrying millions of liters of diesel and fuel oil. While oil is the greatest threat, these wrecks also contain many other toxic substances, including but not limited to lead, zinc, barium, cadmium, chromium, mercury, copper, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos, and arsenic. In addition, some vessels may carry lethal munitions materials: mustard gas, phosgene, nerve gas, white phosphorous, Lewisite, chlorine, cyanogen chloride, hydrogen cyanide, and other hazardous chemicals, as well as poisons such as arsenic. A recent example of the damage a deteriorating wreck could cause is the USS Mississinewa, a tanker sunk in 1944 by a Japanese suicide torpedo in the Ulithi atoll, Federated States of Micronesia. It was carrying about 19 million liters of aviation gasoline and fuel/diesel oil, and went down with the loss of 63 US sailors and the lone Kaitan pilot. It was rediscovered in 2001, and the Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Fleet sent a survey team to inspect the wreck's condition. Mississinewa was lying upside-down in 130 feet of water. It was estimated to be leaking one liter of oil per minute, mostly due to cracks in the shell plating and deteriorated bolts. In 2003 NavSea teams retrieved all pumpable oil from the ship's tanks: 6,934,670 liters all told, leaving the whereabouts of millions more unknown. This vessel is not alone; the Chuuk lagoon, also in Micronesia, holds at least 52 sunken ships and 8 downed

aircraft. They are part of a Japanese fleet of merchant vessels and warships caught by surprise on February 17, 1944, by a US Navy air attack (Operation Hailstone) that left oil washing onto the beaches for nearly two years afterwards. The site still holds live mines, munitions, torpedoes, and detonators, and large amounts of caustic aviation fuel, gasoline, various oils, and acid cover many of the wrecks. The water is very shallow; the deepest wreck is only 200 feet below the surface. Three of these vessels are tankers; the Hoyo Maru is known to be leaking, along with the converted passenger vessel/warship Rio de Janeiro Maru and others such as Nippo Maru and Hanakawa Maru. Oil slicks can be seen on the surface, and dark bubbles rising from the wrecks themselves. A study on the corrosion of these wrecks concluded that some could begin to collapse in 10-15 years (study conducted in 2002), releasing up to 32 million liters of oil. Even ships under constant surveillance can pose a threat: USS Arizona, laying at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, leaks about a liter of oil into the harbor each day with about 1,900,000 liters still trapped inside. Several interior bulkheads have collapsed since the ship's sinking, and the National Park Service has begun a series of studies to evaluate the life expectancy of the Arizona's fuel bunkers. An idea of the amount of other toxins present can be found by turning to the Suisun Bay ghost fleet, US Navy reserve, California. These vessels, 20 (out of over 80) dating to World War Two, are still afloat-- but they are in extremely poor condition. The exterior paint, containing heavy metals such as lead, chromium, zinc, and copper, is flaking away; it has been estimated that 18.271 metric tons of these substances alone (4,045 kg lead, 596 kg chromium, 2,864 kg copper, 10, 766 kg zinc) has been dropped into the bay during the fleet's stay, with an additional 58 tons to go. About 25% of the ships' paint has flaked off, mostly from the decks. In addition, the vessels contain many tons of PCBs and asbestos, the latter used as insulation on pipes, steam fittings, bulkheads and between decks. Examples of the amounts of toxins found on individual ships (according to Texas scrapping companies): The USS Nemasket, a tanker, contained 260 metric tons of oil, 83 cubic meters of PCBs, 83 cubic meters of asbestos, and 15.5 kilograms of mercury. The USS Florence Nightingale, a transport, contained 136 metric tons of PCBs, 68 tons of asbestos, 3,294 tons of oily water and 278 tons of petroleum.

The effects of oil, heavy metals, PCBs and asbestos on life have been documented by many sources-- oil in particular, due to the constant modern danger of large-scale spills such as the Exxon Valdez. While the tankers of

World War Two were much smaller than today's supercarriers, each carried several million liters; equally devastating to the creatures who live nearby. It has been estimated that over 939 million liters of heavy fuel oil (considered to be the worst type, environmentally, due to its slow rate of weathering and biodegration) is locked up in WWII-era tankers worldwide: a conservative estimate, taking into account only the 79 known fuel oil-carrying tankers and only this specific type of oil. At least 181 other tankers were sunk without record of what they were carrying; hundreds more hold other toxins such as gasoline, diesel, crude oil, or benzine, and thousands of other vessels, including submarines, warships, and merchantmen, hold millions more in their fuel tanks. Oil and its components, particularly naphthalene, methylnaphthaline, phenanthrene, and trimethylbenzene, is extremely toxic. Among other things, these substances can kill fish eggs, cause cancers, disturb reproductive and feeding habits, burn and irritate tissue, erode fins, reduce growth, cause changes at chemical levels, and enlarge livers and affect other organs. If the animals survive, later generations may be deformed. This happens at relatively low concentrations (naphthalene, for example, kills 50% of a sample of grass shrimp at a concentration of 2.4 mg/liter). Oil is a sticky, viscous fluid that can be inhaled by marine mammals and the gills of fish, choking them. Marine mammals in cold climates suffer especially from oil spills due to the loss of insulation; the oil adheres to fur and destroys its ability to protect the animal; this coating can also hamper swimming ability. Oil is conjectured to harm sea turtles in much the same manner as fish; toxic ingestion, surface irritation and inflammation, and destruction of eggs as oil washes onto beaches. Little is known about oil's effect on shellfish, save that hydrocarbon contamination renders the animals inedible. Coral reefs may be poisoned or smothered. Heavy metals, such as lead, zinc, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, and mercury, have a variety of effects. Lead can cause nerve and reproductive disorders, anemia, and brain damage. Zinc can damage delicate tissues such as gills and lungs. Barium, sometimes used in rat poison, affects the nervous system and heart and can cause paralysis. Cadmium is a carcinogen, along with chromium. Copper can damage the livers, gills, kidneys, and nervous systems of fish, as well as confuse their sense of smell, rendering them unable to navigate or find mates. Mercury can cause reproductive and nerve damage, and stunt larvae. Each metal can kill in high enough quantities, and can bioaccumulate through the food chain; species such as sharks, dolphins, and whales are particularly affected. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants that remain in circulation for years

and can cause various ill effects, notably liver damage and cancer. They were used in electric components, paint, sealants, and adhesives, and production in many countries, including the United States, the UK, and Japan, was banned in the 1970s. Additional effects found in animals include impaired reproduction, doubling of sex organs, anemia, changes in the immune system, and behavioral alterations. Asbestos is carcinogenic, and arsenic is a general poison that causes multi-system organ failure.

While all of these hazards are certainly present in World War Two-era wrecks, there has been some argument over their worth as artificial reefs, providing havens for wildlife that would otherwise not occur. It is true that ships can be used as artificial reefs, and in fact the United States has strategically scuttled hundreds of vessels for this purpose (at least 800)-- however, these sinkings were intentional sinkings of ships stripped of toxic substances and deposited in strategic locations. Ships sunk as intentional reefs are considered durable to over 60 years, if well-placed, and under certain circumstances can hold a greater variety of marine life than natural reefs. Ships have high vertical profiles, attracting both surface- and bottom-feeding fish, as well as schooling types and their attendant predators, and can provide structure and shelter where there was none. A well-placed wreck can provide shelter for over-fished species and reduce damage to nearby natural reefs by attracting tourists away. The greatest drawbacks to using scuttled ships as reefs are that ships fall apart, and they are not designed to be reefs: extensive modification is required before they can approximate natural formations. Wrecks of the Second World War were sunk without the benefit of retooling or stripping of toxins, and landed wherever they were caught by enemy fire. The vast majority of these locations are not optimal: the ships may have landed atop and severely damaged natural reefs, or fell into deep waters no fish can easily reach. Wrecks near the surface, such as those in Chuuk lagoon, are especially vulnerable to storms and currents, which can bounce them along the bottom and shake them apart. These ships may have large gaps in their structure due to war damage or subsequent deterioration, but by and large unmodified vessels include relatively few nooks and crannies for fish to occupy, making it more difficult to escape predation. The interior of the vessel is unlikely to be used, due to lack of current circulation and natural light. Another hazard is that these vessels are popular tourist attractions, which places pressure on local marine life. It is true that many wrecks do play host to many species of fish and other animals, which seem to be

healthy: the Chuuk wrecks are encrusted with coral, and a 2007 survey recorded 266 species of reef fish and the presence of the rare coral Acropora pichoni (not usually found at such depth and on artificial reefs). Ultimately, however, WWII wrecks have been sitting on the bottom, stressed by damage and pressure and microbial disintegration, for over sixty years. Their usefulness as artificial reefs for much longer is in question.

Study: Exxon Valdez While not a WWII-era wreck, this oil spill has been under extensive study for the past 20 years and may shed some light on possible effects of long-term oil exposure as seen in the Mississinewa or the Arizona. Exxon Valdez dumped over 40 million liters of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989, an accident considered one of the most devastating man-made ecological disasters at sea. Thousands of animals died immediately afterwards, including at least 25 orcas and billions of herring and salmon eggs. Salmon runs have been reduced, herring populations have experienced a dramatic crash, and the resident orcas are beginning to exhibit unusual behavior; the transient population is not expected to survive. While direct links to the oil spill has not been proven to be the cause of these events, it is a definite possibility. Shoreline habitats, such as mussel beds, are expected to take up to 30 years to recover. More than 98,000 liters of oil remain in the soil surrounding the area: this is decreasing at a rate of 0%--4% per year, with an only 5% chance of reaching this 4%. At such a rate it may take decades or even centuries for the oil to fully disappear. Several species, such as Harlequin ducks, continue to exhibit elevated levels of P450 (an enzyme that reacts to the presence of oil), indicating that exposure is constant and ongoing.

Discussion Wrecks of World War Two have a number of effects on the marine life that surrounds them, both positive and negative. Unfortunately, the negative factors will outweigh the positive within a decade. Each wreck contains several million liters of oil and its related forms, along with high concentrations of heavy metals, munitions, and PCBs, along with other substances such as arsenic and asbestos. Individually it might be possible for these toxins to dissolve into the seawater, evaporate, and sink into the sediment with no great effect; however, the sheer number of these wrecks guarantees widespread damage regardless whether or not any given individual ship holds six million liters or nothing.

Each toxin held upon these vessels is highly dangerous to life individually, and exist in great quantities upon each wreck. Oil alone has been proven to have a wide variety of lethal effects and it is slowly seeping into the water through cracks between hull plates and disintegrating bolts, exposing life nearby over many years. The Exxon Valdez spill, comparatively minor compared to the potential damage of thousands of WWII-era timebombs, has left effects that may linger for decades or centuries. The life expectancy of a ship-formed artificial reef can reach 60 years or more with decent care; however, WWII wrecks have been on the bottom for these six decades without any care at all, and are rapidly approaching the end of their structural integrity. All evidence points to an approaching disaster. While local populations may be suffering from low-level contamination, once these vessels begin to break apart in earnest the damage will be much more severe. Oil and substances such as lead and mercury cause problems if fish and marine mammals come into contact, or if they eat another animal that has; currently the leaks are relatively minor and flourishing life exists on and near many wrecks, but this will not be the case a decade from now. Evidence for this declaration has been taken from a number of government reports, scientific articles dealing with the issue, and books concerning marine pollution and specific areas (such as Chuuk Lagoon). The reports were used to find records and technical data of individual ships and operations, while the articles were used to find the distribution of wrecks and their possible effects. Information on toxins and the Chuuk Lagoon was taken from books. While some of these documents may have a vested interest in skewing the results either towards or away from catastrophe, a cross section of both tendencies should yield feasible conclusions.

Conclusion WWII wrecks are ultimately harmful to marine life. This is due to the large amounts of toxins (especially oil and its derivatives) present aboard each vessel and the advanced state of deterioration. At present the danger is containable, but within another 10-15 years widespread threat to life can be expected as the wrecks begin to leak in earnest.

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