munition dump; marine; pollution; uxo; water column; site properties
Theme 1 - Measuring
Summary: we look for partners to assess the risk of pollutants, originating from old munition dumps in coastal regions, for the marine environment and public health.
After WW1 and WW2, many European countries decided to dump the chemical and conventional munition in seas within their borders. Today, these old munition depots remain a potential threat for both the marine environment and public health, as the munition is slowly corroding, releasing potentially hazardous pollutants. A thorough monitoring is essential to manage these risks.
Belgian research institutes build their experiences in monitoring the pollution originating from these dumps in both sediment and water for many years. Our techniques are now among the most precise in the field. We look for partners to further apply these techniques in different circumstances and assess the influence of depth, currents,… We are mainly interested in measuring the concentration of pollutants in the water column above different munition dumps.
We are open to any offers which can help us in our goals to sustainably manage these munition dumps.
The Marine Environment Department is a part of the DG Environment in the Belgian federal administration. We protect the marine environment in our part of the North Sea, are tasked with the management of marine pollution, created and manage our marine spatial plan to ensure the functioning of the many different activities in our borders and play an important role in the protection of oceans on the international level.
Together with our scientific partners, we manage the Paardenmarkt-site, our munition dump at the coast of Knokke-Heist, and funded many studies on this topic over the course of 25 years. Science has to be the basis of good policy and we hope to ensure this by participating in this call.