This Science News Wire page contains a press release issued by an organization and is provided to you "as is" with little or no review from Science X staff.

Report: Sunken WWII ships may pollute US waters

May 20th, 2013 by SETH BORENSTEIN
Report: Sunken WWII ships may pollute US waters
This May, 14, 1942, U. S. Army Air Corps photograph, provided by the National Archives, College Park, Md., shows the burning tanker Potrero del Llano, a Mexican ship heading to New York that was sunk on May 14, 1942 by a German U-boat, about 15 miles southeast of Miami's Biscayne Bay. It carried about 1.8 million gallons of oil aboard. A new government report details 87 shipwrecks that could pollute U.S. waters with oil. Most were sunk during World War II. The potential for pollution is less than scientists had expected. They estimate that far less oil will leak into the ocean than the BP oil spill of 2010, which spewed roughly 200 million gallons into the Gulf of Mexico alone. However, six leaks are considered potentially significant coastal pollution problems. Study author Lisa Symons said Monday those six keep her up at night. Five are off the Florida coast, one just 15 miles from shore. (AP Photo/National Archives, College Park, Md)

A new government report details 87 shipwrecks—most sunk during World War II decades ago—that could pollute U.S. waters with tens of millions of gallons of oil.

Even so, the potential for pollution is less than scientists had expected. The report released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration concludes "the scope of the problem is much more manageable than initially feared. ... Our coastlines are not littered with 'ticking time bombs.'"

Agency officials estimate that far less oil will leak into the ocean than the BP oil spill of 2010, which spewed roughly 200 million gallons into the Gulf of Mexico alone. It was the country's worst offshore environmental disaster.

"That's not a bad number in comparison to what we first thought it would be," said NOAA's Lisa Symons, who wrote the study.

There are 20,000 shipwrecked vessels that lie off the nation's coastline. Most finished leaking long ago, ran on coal instead of oil, are too small or aren't near vulnerable land.

"There are only six that really keep me up at night, but we don't know where they all really are," Symons said. Those six have the biggest potential to foul coastal areas because even if they spill only 10 percent of their oil, they could cause a local-scale disaster, she said.

Of those six, Symons said NOAA doesn't know the exact location of three of them. Three of the six worst potential problems are off Florida. One is near Georgia, one is near South Carolina and one is near New York. Some are as close as 15 miles (24 kilometers) from shore.

Of the 87 ships identified as potential polluters, 52 were lost in World War II, mostly up and down the Atlantic coastline.

The agency has identified 17 ships that have a known location and that need to be investigated further to see if the oil could be removed. Removing oil in advance, before it leaks, is far easier than waiting till after it spills into the water, Symons said.

More information:
The NOAA report: 1.usa.gov/12Q5XiO
A searchable list of the 87 wrecks: 1.usa.gov/17VearC

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Citation: Report: Sunken WWII ships may pollute US waters (2013, May 20) retrieved 31 July 2026 from https://sciencex.com/wire-news/130527778/report-sunken-wwii-ships-may-pollute-us-waters.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
Back to list