#370 The Forgotten Arsenal of the Ocean: Clearing Dumped Munitions

#370 The Forgotten Arsenal of the Ocean: Clearing Dumped Munitions

From Engineering Matters by Reby Media

July 2, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the environmental hazards posed by dumped munitions in the ocean and the need for new technologies to manage them.

At the end of the Second World War, millions of tonnes of unwanted explosives and weapons were disposed of at sea. For decades, these dumped munitions lay hidden beneath the waves as time and tide passed over them. Now 80 years past that mass-dumping, corrosion has begun to expose the explosive chemicals inside these weapons casings. Lead, mercury and TNT breakdown products have begun to be detected in fish stocks throughout the affected waters. At the same time, the growth of offshore infrastructure such as wind farms is increasing the need to understand and manage hazards on the seabed. But dumped munitions are not the same problem as unexploded ordnance (UXO). Instead of finding isolated dangerous objects, engineers face vast areas containing thousands of items, requiring new approaches to detection, removal, containment and disposal. This is a question of new technologies, new approaches, and still yet, convincing people of the scale of the problem. Guests Torsten Frey , post-doctoral researcher, Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel Peter Nieuwveld , Solution Owner UXO Risk Mitigation, Fugro Jennifer Yun , New Business Manager, Fugro Resources Sign up for the…

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Guests: Torsten Frey, Peter Nieuwveld, Jennifer Yun

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Organizations: Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Fugro

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