U-boat leaking mercury

[August]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6193979.stm

When it set sail in December 1944, U-864 was packed with 65 tonnes of weapons-grade mercury destined to help the Japanese win back supremacy over the US in the Pacific - and divert American attention away from Europe in the process. Neither the cargo nor the 73 men on board made it. The U-boat was torpedoed to the bottom of the North Sea floor by a British submarine.
More than 60 years on, its toxic cargo is slowly leaking into the waters off the coast of Norway, an ecological time bomb threatening marine - and potentially human - life.

[Konovalov]

Interesting. I assume there were very few engagements of this type?

[Dan D]

Related article
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,455652,00.html

[Subwolf]

This is old news in Norway. They have decided to close it up and cover it with some kind of sand and concrete when all the relatives of the 73 crewmembers have been notified.

[waste gate]

The danger is that the poison could eventually pass up the food chain, and be ingested by humans.

Well, I guess you folks in Europe don't have to worry about global warming, nuclear war, increased taxes, whether or not God exists (you'll find out soon enough), or any other people destroying the planet topic de jor.

Count your blessings now you know that you and all your progeny will die.

Sarcasm off.

[tycho102]

65 tonnes of weapons-grade mercury

I'm going to guess that's just a purity designation.

Sounds like there's two options. Encase it, or enclose it and harvest the mercury by using chelating agents and a filtering membrane.

What are we talking about here? 200 meters? 500 meters? Surely nothing over 500 meters.

[bradclark1]

Don't eat the tuna! :|\\

[lesrae]

Interesting. I assume there were very few engagements of this type?

This is the only recorded one - HMS VENTURER was the 'culprit'.

Interesting story, here's a Norwegian site about the wreck, with some pics (courtesy of www.uboat.net (http://www.uboat.net)): http://www.bt.no/miljo/article212064.ece

[peterloo]

Yes, I think that this is the only one (since no sub engagements in Cold War... )

Be careful. Don't ever eat fish there...

I'm a bit worry about mercury... It is quite chemically inert... and even a large pool of sea water surrounding it. It's hard to use any chemically mean to neutralize it...

[Subwolf]

I believe there is a lot of fishing going on in that area. This leak is very small, not any serious damage done yet.

The HMS Venturer was transfered to the Norwegian Navy after the war. Today you can check it out at the naval museum outside Oslo.