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Post 23 March 2016featured

Collaborative Meeting with UNESCO Institute for Water Education

Collaborative Meeting with UNESCO Institute for Water Education, 23 March 2016, Delft

UNESCO Institute for Water Education – is the prestigious and largest international postgraduate water education facility in the world. Since 1957 the Institute has provided postgraduate education to more than 14,500 water professionals from over 160 countries. UNESCO-IHE is instrumental in the strengthening of efforts by other universities and research centers in increasing knowledge and skills of professionals working in the water sector. UNESCO-IHE carries out three types of activities that complement and reinforces each other in the broad field of water engineering, water management, environment, sanitation, and governance. Its core activities are education, research, and capacity building.

On 23 March 2016, the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions (IDUM) has met with the representatives of the UNESCO Institute for Water Education in their global headquarters located in Delft, The Netherlands. The IDUM has been introduced to the Institute, its infrastructure, and has briefly met few of its students.

In great discussion with the representative of the Liaison Office of the UNESCO Institute, IDUM agreed upon mutual cooperation in development of a scientific course for focused professionals. In a Tailor-Made type of Training program that designed for clients whose staff require training on specific topics, or seek to develop a common knowledge base to address challenges ahead such as underwater munitions.

In the upcoming projects of the UNESCO Institute for Water Education, and the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions (IDUM) are planning to create many training and educational courses that are organized for groups of various sizes, and as large as industry sectors and regions. The IDUM will be responsible to design a program to upgrade knowledge and skills, introduce new technologies, and strengthen sector performance for people interested in the underwater munitions and their impact.

For IDUM, it is not the first educational project, as for many years the organization has already conducted similar training courses during the Summer School in Halifax, where the project ‘Towards the Monitoring of Dumped Munitions Threat’ (MODUM) together with many international partners, organizations, and agencies is highly thought after for its sharing and knowledge transfer on underwater munitions.

In a similar manner of the Science for Peace and Security Program Summer School, the courses will include an overview on global dumping of underwater weapons in national and international waters from 1920s’ to 1970’, as well as the introduction of possible solutions to the issues related to underwater munitions.

The work on the upcoming projects of the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions and the UNESCO Institute for Water Education will begin in 2016-2017.

Post 17 March 2016featured

The International Technology Advisory Board Meeting (ITAB), 17 March 2016, The Hague

The International Technology Advisory Board (ITAB) on Sea-Dumped Weapons was established to serve as the focal point for the exchange of information, expertise, knowledge and know-how between different potential stakeholders, such as Governments, commissions, conventions, communities, organizations, scientific experts, and industry. The International Technology Advisory Board has replaced the International Scientific Advisory Board on Sea-Dumped Chemical Weapons as we have moved forward from a position of science and new knowledge, to one of action. The main mission of the Advisory Board is to provide platforms for networking, information-sharing, evaluation of emerging technologies suitable for underwater munitions clearance, and raising awareness on legacy of underwater munitions.

On 17 March 2016, in the IDUM head-office in The Hague, the ITAB committee held its next meeting. Many important issues have been reviewed during the brief but informative one-hour discussion. During the meeting, the members were updated about the current, ongoing, and the upcoming IDUM activities. Three ITAB members (later that number was confirmed to be five) are appearing on the panel for CW’s at the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. It is an honor for our organization that three (later that number was confirmed to be five) members are filling the total of seven the expert panel. Later was confirmed that five out of seven experts were represented by the ITAB.

Five ITAB members were selected by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia to appear from 4 to 8 April 2016 to develop a new board for CDC: Experts Panel on Underwater Munitions (EPUM) that will write a report for the US, and it will included chemical and conventional munitions sites, and all underwater munitions sites outside of the US waters. The munitions will be cleaned-up in the future based on Human Health and Environment. The Chairperson of the IDUM, Mr. Terrance Long, is leading the report writing with CDC.

“The purpose of this panel is to assess the potential risk posed by ocean dumped munitions, particularly chemical munitions. This panel is in conjunction with the U.S. Army’s plans and current programs for mitigation, prevention, and control of chemical agent hazards from this material. This panel will provide individual recommendations and observations with regards to risk, proposed or current activities and programs, and identify any corrective actions or other mitigation measures based on each member’s expertise.”

Some ITAB members were present in person, and many of them could join the meeting through Skype, as the organization is proud to say that ITAB members are a diverse group of experts representing different areas of expertise represented by many countries and even continents.

The working of the ITAB committee is in continues progress.

Post 15 March 2016featured

Offshore Industry Committee, OSPAR Commission

Offshore Industry Committee, OSPAR Commission, 15 March 2016, The Hague

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OSPAR Commission – the current legislative instrument regulating international cooperation on environmental protection in the North-East Atlantic. It combines and updates the 1972 Oslo Convention on dumping waste at sea and the 1974 Paris Convention on land-based sources of marine pollution. Work carried out under the convention is managed by the OSPAR Commission, which is made up of representatives of the Governments of the 15 signatory nations, and representatives of the European Commission, representing the European Union.

On 15 March 2016, the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions (IDUM) was an honorable participant of the Offshore Industry Committee organized by the OSPAR Commission in The Hague, The Netherlands.

OSPAR_3

Offshore Industry Commission has extensively discussed the following topics: the produced water, acute oil pollution, developments in the OSPAR Region Arctic waters, OSPAR Coordination Group, cooperation with international organizations, and many related issues.

During the meeting, the IDUM has played a role of an observer. It was the first meeting attended by the organization in cooperation with the OSPAR Commission. The IDUM has contributed to the valuable discussions of the Offshore Industry Committee where were discussed the issues of how to prevent and eliminate pollution and take the necessary measures to protect the OSPAR maritime area against the adverse effects of offshore oil and gas activities by setting environmental goals and improving management mechanisms, so as to safeguard human health and to conserve marine ecosystems and, when practicable, restore marine areas which have been adversely affected.

OSPAR_2

In this discussion, the issue of underwater munitions plays a critical role. The IDUM has indicated that “Chemical and conventional munitions impact our human health, and the environment from the waste they create, that is inorganic arsenic from mustard gas break-down products and DNT, a human carcinogen with a half-life of 1000’s of years that stays in our seas and oceans. All the warfare materials are spread across our seafloor, and chemical plumes drift in our oceans. Left unchecked, toxic plumes of carcinogens will migrate throughout our seas and oceans until they meet one another.” Therefore, signifying the importance of prominent underwater munitions cleanup.

The cooperation between the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions and the OSPAR Commission is to be continued throughout the upcoming meetings.

Post 11 March 2016featured

Please follow IDUM on Twitter, Thank you.

Wentworth Environmental Inc. (WEI) seeks three UXO Tech’s for Explosive Disposal of Unexploded Ordnance in Canada. Must have qualifications for UXO disposal in Canada. Please send your resume to tplong@eastlink.ca or info@wentworthenvironmental.com

Post 9 December 2015featured

Chemical Weapons Destroy our Ocean and Seas and Can Easily Be Recovered For Reuse on the Public

On a recent survey in the Baltic Sea off Poland I was searching for chemical weapons in 100 meters of water. We first deployed AUV’s to search for targets then send our ROV for a more detailed investigation. What was very strange was that there was no life on the seabed and the water column for about 30 meters in depths. All I could find was chemical weapons scatter along the seabed and shipwrecks with conventional and chemical weapons. Its no longer uncommon to find dead zones and munitions in the same area. In some cases the nitrates play a role by removing oxygen from the marine environment. Left unchecked these weapons will destroy the seas and ocean. Its just a matter of time before chemical releases from other regions meet one another. The releases from chemical weapons attack juvenile fish ability to reproduce that in many cases is mistaken for over fishing.

Also of concern is how technology has developed over the last few years for the marine sector. Today you can easily find information on the location of chemical weapons sites, some in shallow water with easy access for use as a Terror Weapons. It shocked me the good state some of these weapons we found on the seabed. In many anoxic zones the decay of the weapons has stopped because of the lack of oxygen, which allows for chemical weapon to be recovered in good shape and reused. This was recently discuss at a Side Event at OPCW HQ hosted by the Lithuanian Embassy in The Hague and International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions (IDUM), however I do not think the State Parties took us seriously when we told them a well trained EOD specialist or ISS could recover and reuse chemical weapons with the right technology and money.

IDUM was hoping for support and leadership from the OPCW to MAP the sites at RISK and Prioritize them based on risk of reuse. IDUM has a few meters of documents on global sea dumped weapons sites but hasn’t funds to put it in a database for use by approved stakeholders. A database would allow the international community and organizations like the OPCW, Homeland Security, Marine and Coastal Agencies to monitor underwater weapons sites thereby reducing the risk of recovery and reuse.

Conventional underwater weapons have been recovered and reused in a terroir plot which leads one to believe its just a matter of time before chemical weapons are recovered for reuse against the Public. The OPCW has demonstrated many times that they aren’t forward thinking people when it comes to underwater chemical weapons. They openly state that when they run out of things to do than they may look at underwater chemical weapons in 2025. NOT because they are a danger to you and me but when they run out of things to do. IDUM an international NGO has continually demonstrate leadership when it come to addressing these weapons. These chemical weapons need to be under its own Treaty not the OPCW. Lets ask Prime Minster Justin Trudeau to implement the Senate Hearings Findings of the Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Fishery for the Canadian Government to call on the United Nations for a Conference on Sea Dumped Weapons. Please email Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on LinkedIn and ask him to call on the UN for this Conference.

Thank you!

Terrance P. Long

Chair,

International dialogue on Underwater Munitions (IDUM)

www.underwatermunitions.org

Post 14 November 2015featured

Potential Accident Similar to Deep Water Horizon Looms Unless Oil and Gas Develops Policy, Standards and Procedures for Underwater Weapons

AAEAAQAAAAAAAAcSAAAAJGFkMTQ4M2RkLWE4MWQtNGJmYi05YWRkLWM4ZDYyZWU1MGNjNw http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1321948-offshore-drilling-could-detonate-unexploded-bombs-expert-warns

The Major Threat we face for an Incident to occur in an Off-shore Underwater Munitions Sites is non-UXO personnel Risk Mitigating for Oil and Gas Projects. Its Extremely Dangerous to allow General Consultants with no formal education for Underwater Unexploded Ordnance to Risk Mitigate Sites for Oil and Gas, Commissions and Petroleum Boards. With no Formal Education on Munitions the little bit of information they know becomes Dangerous and Short-cuts become the Norm, in Many Cases how Accidents are Created. TP LONG

Did you know that the BP Oil Rig Deepwater Horizon was drilling in a Documented Underwater Munitions Dump Site when it blow-up? Even if it wasn’t a Munitions we now know the Potential Risks!

Deepwater offshore drilling by the energy sector has a Sydney expert flagging the threat of munitions dumped off the coast of Nova Scotia.

“The exploration companies are drilling deeper than ever before and, back in the day, these same deep waters were selected by authorities for disposal of unexploded ordnance,” Terry Long, owner of Wentworth Environmental Inc. in Sydney, said in an interview Tuesday.

Long said drilling could potentially detonate an unexploded bomb, or rupture a canister filled with dangerous chemicals.

He has credentials when it comes to risks associated with munitions dumped off the coast of Atlantic Canada and in ocean waters around the world. His business specializes in removalof underwater ordnance, and he founded and chairs the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions.

Authorities have long been aware of the potential risks of undersea munitions dumps in Atlantic Canada. They number more than 3,000 between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, according to various sources.

The dumps are comprised mostly of unexploded bombs and unused chemicals from the first and second world wars.

Long said the munitions risk escalated as drilling rigs headed into deeper waters to search for oil. In this province, Shell Canada Ltd. is drilling in the Shelburne Basin, and BP is expected to begin drilling in 2017, after completing seismic work in 2014.

“There is a need for some constructive discussion on how best to mitigate the risk of these munitions,” Long said.

He said he is writing a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to raise his concern about the energy sector proceeding with inadequate assessments of undersea munitions dumps near drilling rigs.

However, a spokeswoman for the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board said there are extensive protocols in place relating to a range of undersea hazards, including unexploded ordnance.

The existence of dump sites has been recognized and accepted as part of assessments of offshore drilling programs since the 1960s, said Kathleen Funke, with the board in Halifax.

“Long before drilling occurs there are consultations with the Department of National Defence regarding unexploded ordnance,” Funke said.

Risk assessments of unexploded ordnance are part of required hazard surveys, she said.

“There is potential for ordnance to be an issue anywhere offshore and particularly in Nova Scotia, with our military history,” she said.

Funke said that in the case of the Shell program, undersea hazards would have been identified by a 3D seismic survey conducted in 2013. She said there were also assessments conducted with remote underwater vehicles equipped with high-definition cameras.

“If there were any issues, they would have been uncovered by these sophisticated technologies,” she said.

Shell has the exploration vessel Stena IceMax drilling offshore, about 250 kilometres from Shelburne.

Post 22 October 2015featured

Deadly Depths Best Documentary German Green Screen Film Fest 2014 from more than 400 Entries

Learn more about sea dumped chemical weapons in our rivers, lakes, seas and ocean. Left in the marine environment they will destroy our global fish stocks, increase our global heath care costs, increase global cancer rates and continue to create dead zones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BZ88S9OfdU#t=18

Thank you for taking the time to watch.

Post 21 October 2015featured

Expression of Interest for Project Partners 2016/17

International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions (IDUM) is a registered Dutch Foundation in the city of The Hague, The Netherlands. IDUM maintains and operates a Board of Directors and an International Technology Advisory Board (ITAB) on Sea Dumped Weapons (SDW’s). IDUM’s goals are to establish an International binding Treaty on all classes of Underwater Munitions, to develop a global database on locations of underwater munitions sites and to act as a repository for underwater munitions related information.

IDUM has cooperated with the Lithuania Mission to the United Nations in 2010 and 2013 to present an overview of the United Nations Resolution on Sea Dumped Chemical Weapons at the United Nations Second Committee on Environment. IDUM has been identified by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Third Review Conference of State Parties Report in 2014 for their international cooperation on sea dumped chemical weapons and has also been identified for our cooperation in the Secretary General of the United Nations Report 2013 on Cooperative Measures on Sea Dumped Chemical Munitions.

IDUM has partnered with international organizations on programs as Co-Director, Search and Assessment of Chemical Weapons in the Baltic Sea (CHEMSEA) and Co-Director for NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) MODUM. IDUM presently maintains Observer Statist for the Helsinki Commission Ad Hoc Working Groups on Sea Dumped Chemical Weapon, Submerged Working Group for Hazardous Wrecks and Seabed Warfare Materials, and Helsinki Commission Head of Delegation (HOD). IDUM maintain Observer Statist at OSPAR Commission for Protection of North-East Atlantic Ocean & International Seabed Authority (ISA) for Deep Sea Mining of rare minerals Jamaica.

IDUM is on the Polish Scientific Committee Yearbook for Marine Security, we have co-edited two Marine Technology Society Journals (MTS) on the Legacy of Underwater Munitions: Policy and the Science of Assessment, Evaluation of Impacts and Potential Responses. IDUM written guidelines for Chemical Weapons Agents Contaminated Areas in cooperation with Polish Academy of Sciences and the Swedish Defense Research Agency. IDUM has cooperated on two international documentaries: Foot Prints of War and Deadly Depths witch Deadly Depths won best international documentaries from more than 400 entries at the German Green Screen Film Fest in 2014.

IDUM is seeking like-minded organizations and individuals to cooperate for the development of project proposals for 2016/2017 on underwater munitions related activities including but not limited to: Policy, Science, Technology and Potential Responses. Interested organizations and individual should contact me direct: tplong@eastlink.ca or call me on my Dutch mobile: +31 629932932.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to hearing from you in the near future on how we can cooperate. We need your cooperation to save the seas and ocean from toxic chemicals that left to rot will destroy our fish stocks and persist in the marine environment for 1000’s of years.

Sincerely,

Terrance P. Long, Chairman, IDUM,

www.underwatermunitions.org

Post 27 September 2015featured

AUV operations to investigate Sea Dumped Chemical Weapons in Gdansk Deep, Baltic Sea

Terry Long believes the world is in great danger. And he’s on a one-man mission to save it.

The Sydney native and retired army engineer wants to open the eyes of politicians, international leaders and the general public to the hazards of underwater munitions.

Long says munitions found throughout the world are poisoning seafood, harming fish stocks and potentially creating health problems for humans. Many of the munitions, which can include bombs, rockets, grenades and naval shells, were dumped in the seas or oceans and have been left to leak harmful contaminants for decades.

“This needs to be an election issue,” Long said on Saturday on the shores of the Bedford Basin. “It’s a global concern. Munitions are in every ocean in the world and we have some of the largest munition sites — both chemical and conventional sites — off the east coast of Canada.”

Long, who is the chairman of the International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions, based in The Hague, was in Dartmouth to test some new equipment.

Using a Deep Tracker remote-operated vehicle as well as some passive samplers, he will be able to measure for the first time how much of which contaminants are leaking from the munitions in the Bedford Basin.

“In the past, we’ve been using electromagnetic surveys, cameras underwater, whatever we could to detect where the munitions are,” he said. “But we’ve never been able to tell if they’re leaking or not. What this passive sampler does is it takes real-time readings as the munition leaks.”

Long says there are more than 3,000 munitions sites off the coast of Nova Scotia alone, including munitions left in the water from the Bedford Magazine explosion in 1945.

After his stint in Bedford, Long will head to the Baltic Sea to carry out similar testing.

Long, who is also the co-director of the NATO Science for Peace and Security program, says Canada is not taking the issue of underwater munitions as seriously as it should.

“I have to look at what we did with landmines. We were able to develop an international treaty on landmines. … This is an opportunity where a Canadian leader could do the same thing we did with landmines. … And our government does nothing about it.”

Post 12 August 2015featured

IDUM seeks greater cooperation with ISA

International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions (IDUM’s) International Technology Advisory Board (ITAB) on Sea Dumped Weapons (SDW) will develop a MOU to provide expert advice on sea dumped chemical and conventional weapons to the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston Jamaica, where IDUM recently became an Observer. The ISA is the seabed authority under International law of the Sea, including oversight of deep water sites for exploration of rare minerals. Some deep water sites are also home to the world’s chemical weapons sites. Please join our open LinkedIn Group ” International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions” to provide your comment on sea dumped weapons. Millions of tons of munitions left to corrode will destroy our ocean and seas unless we safely and environmental friendly dispose of them. The solution isn’t dissolution. We welcome everyone to our LinkedIn Group ” International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions”

Thank you,

Terry