MANNIN/ISLE OF MAN: PHOSPOROUS MUNITIONS POLLUTION ON MANX COAST

More evidence of the dangerous legacy of British dumping of military munitions occurred last weekend when more phosphorous cylinders washed up on the north coast of the Isle of Man.

The United Kingdom disposed of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of munitions in the three decades after world war two at over twenty offshore sites around the British Isles.

One of the largest sea dumps is the Beaufort Dyke to the north west of the Isle of Man and debris from this site periodically washes ashore on coasts around the north Irish sea. The phosphorous munitions are particularly dangerous as whilst inert in water as soon as they dry out they spontaneously explode and burn with an intense heat given of vast quantities of pungent fumes.

In the past decade several thousand have washed ashore and several people in Scotland and Ireland have been injured by the devices.

The sheer quantity and variety of munitions recklessly dumped by the United Kingdom beggars belief and chemical, explosive and some low grade nuclear material lies festering in a vast 22x10 mile area in the North Channel.

The Celtic League campaigned for many years to expose Britain's munitions dumping policy and although in the early years of our campaign (1980s) the United Kingdom government was unforthcoming eventually it was forced to concede the scope and danger of the practice..

Sadly the legacy of the Chemical and Explosive munitions deposited in Beaufort Dyke seems set to continue to pose a danger for many years to come, Last weekends debris on Manx coasts is unlikely to be the last! (For related articles on this topic go to (voir le site) and type Beaufort into the search box)

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

01/04/09