C T Online Desk: At some point, the war in Ukraine will end, hopefully. But even when it does, when the deathly explosions of all the rockets and bombs cease, their destructive potential will be far from exhausted.
The grenades, mines, and other explosive shots have destroyed buildings, and that has released asbestos into the environment. They have also hit refineries, allowing oil and other chemicals to leak into the ground and water systems.
That’s not to mention the ammunition itself, which contains toxic elements. These corrosive chemicals have come to stay.
The news agency Reuters reported that at least 10.5 million hectares of agricultural land in Ukraine had been contaminated with chemicals, with ramifications for global food security.
Once those chemicals get into the soils and ground water, it may only be a matter of time before they are transmitted to humans via plants, animals, and drinking water.
At least, that is what toxicologists say could happen. They are not entirely sure how the environment will deal with these toxic substances, or what effect they could have on humans.
Explosives and heavy metals
“We’re only just starting to deal with the munitions left in the oceans,” said Edmund Maser, director of the Institute for Toxicology at the University Clinic in Kiel, Germany.
Many questions remain unanswered. But Maser’s research has led him and his team to one conclusion already — and that is that poisonous chemicals are bad news for organisms.
In the German parts of the North and Baltic Seas, Maser estimated there are 1.6 million tons of rusting munitions resting on the seabed.
