International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions

IDUM Organizational Profile June 2020 Download

NEWS & MEDIA

VIDEOS

Bomb Hunters of the Baltic

Mapping munition dump sites in the Baltic Sea

An international team of scientists working on the multi-year research project ‘Towards the Monitoring of Dumped Munitions Threat’ (MODUM), supported by NATO’s Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme.

Footprints of War

Environmental impacts of military conflicts

Military attacks have alarming consequences on our ecosystem. Their huge footprint includes millions of tons of ammunition in our oceans, contaminating landscapes, and 10% of global carbon emissions.

Deadly Depths

Ocean Dumping of Chemical Weapons

This is a trailer of the documentary “Deadly Depths,” won “Best Documentary German Green Screen Film Fest 2014” for having amazing footage and being extremely informative. Featuring IDUM founder and munitions expert, Terry Long.

ACTIVITIES

View More →

UN Oceans Action Newsletter #1

APPOINTMENT OF NEW SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE OCEAN On 12 September 2017, Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Mr. Peter Thomson, President ...

Government won’t remove thousands of tons of potentially toxic chemical weapons dumped off US coasts

By 1972, when the US officially ended its practice of dumping munitions out to sea, tens of thousands of tons ...

USS Akutan dumped 3000 tons of Mustard Gas Bombs at the BP Deepwater Horizon Well

I hope everyone will take a few minutes to watch the short film clip below and SHARE with your friends ...

OUR HISTORY

International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions (IDUM), is a non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in Canada in 2004, and established as a Dutch Foundation in The Hague, The Netherlands in 2014 to stop the human health and environmental impact and destruction on our seas and ocean from Underwater Munitions (UWM’s).

Mr. Terrance Long, founder of IDUM, is a former commissioned United Nations Officer (UNO), and retired Canadian Military Engineer specializing in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Demining. His expertise and passion and respect for our seas and ocean led to the birth of IDUM. Our four pillars are to advance International Policy, Science, Technology and Responses to UWM’s. Our Mission is to create a Global Treaty for the Protection of our Seas and Ocean by eradicating chemical, conventional and radiological munitions from our waters.

Underwater Munitions toxins (“Silent Killers”) negatively affect our marine environment and human health. There are environmental impacts, that includes depleting fish stocks, extra fish diseases, stress on kidneys and livers of Cod fish, and the inability of juvenile fish to reproduce. Scientists believe, that some chemical weapons may dissipate in water, but others like arsenic, can bioaccumulation in the food chain, and, ultimately, produce human health concerns, including cancers. In many world regions people unknowingly consume contaminated fish.

Warfare Materials continue to spread across our seafloors while chemical plums drift in our waters from underwater munitions dumpsites, exposing large areas to chemical contamination, that destroy fish stocks. TNT’s breakdowns to DNT’s in the marine environment, that is a human carcinogen that remains in the ocean for 1000’s of years to pollute. It’s a matter of time before chemical weapons plums begin to meet one-another in our seas and ocean, raising the temperature of our waters destroying our marine ecosystem, unless we “Call to Action”.

IDUM, actively cooperates globally with national and International organizations and bodies on UWM’s. IDUM has conducted 5 international dialogues, working groups, conferences and seminars on UWM’s. IDUM: help draft, and present the social-economic overview on United Nations (UN) Resolution “Cooperatives measures on sea dumped chemical weapons” at UN Second Committee for Sustainable Development in 2010 and 2013; Chaired side event sessions on Sea Dumped Chemical Weapons during Third Review Conference of State Parties, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC); Observer to International Seabed Authority (ISA) for Law of the Sea; Observer to OSPAR and Helsinki Commissions for the Protection of the North-East Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea; Chairman, Expert Panel Sea Dumped Chemical Weapons Human Health and Environment, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta Georgia; Chairman, International Technology Advisory Board (ITAB) on Sea Dumped Weapons (SDW’s), The Hague, The Netherlands and on Scientific Committee of the Polish Naval Academy Marine Security Yearbook. IDUM continue to cooperate by providing a voluntary commitment to UNEP Oceans Conference as a global focal point on underwater munitions Policy, Science, Technology, and Responses.

An underwater bomb on the south side of Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. HMX and trace levels of RDX explosive compounds were found in fiddler crabs surrounding Vieques, according to a recent report. (Photo: Courtesy of James Barton)
A 1,000 lb general purpose bomb found in Lake Michigan, in vicinity of the Waugoshance Lighthouse, once used as a bombing target during WWII. (Photo: Courtesy of James Barton)
An underwater munition dump site. According to the DoD, there are at least 32,000 tons of chemical weapons dumped in U.S. coastal waters. (Photo: Courtesy of the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions)
Archival picture of a ship loaded with munitions, awaiting scuttling out to sea. (Photo: Courtesy of the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions / National Archives)
An underwater munition dump site. According to Terrance Long, chair and CEO of the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions in the Hague, there could be as many as 1000 separate dump sites in the coastline surrounding the continental U.S., many of them currently undocumented. (Photo: Courtesy of the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions)
Recoil-less rifle cartridges on the north shore of the Island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. According to a recent study, some fish and shellfish from certain reefs surrounding Vieques contained elevated levels of metals like arsenic and selenium. (Photo: Courtesy of James Barton)
Image


OUR MISSION	OUR GOALS
"Our mission is to promote the creation of an Internationally Binding Treaty on all classes (biological, chemical, conventional, and radiological) of underwater munitions, to lead to the cleanup of our seas and oceans worldwide."	Creation of a Global Treaty on all underwater weapons. Development of a Global Database of underwater weapons sites. Being a repository of information for underwater weapons. Eradication of the "Point-Source Emitters of Pollution" from our seas and oceans.