A thousandfold increase in PCB levels and millions of dollars lost, the real cost of artificial reefs

A report  by the Basel Action Network highlights the environmental risks and economic losses caused by artificial reefing. In one reef, the total PCB concentrations in fish samples increased 1,446% on average from pre-sinking to postsinking"

"Study of the sunken Ex-USS ORISKANY, reveals startling toxic PCB
leaching from the sunken aircraft carrier. According to the data, the leaching is occurring
at more than twice the Navy’s and EPA’s presinking modeled expectations of 2006. In fact, leaching PCBs from the sunken vessel has been taken up by fish at the reef site at levels above the Florida Department of Health fish consumption advisory threshold. Total PCB concentrations in fish samples increased 1,446% on average from pre-sinking to postsinking"
http://ban.org/library/Dishonorable%20Disposal_BAN%20Report.pdf

U.S. Government Ends The Sinking Of Old Ships as Artificial Reefs

Recognizing the potential environmental impact and loss of economic revenue, the Obama administration has made significant chances to the federal  artificial reefing program 

"The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has adopted a new policy that effectively terminates the federal artificial reefing program that allowed the scuttling of old ships for so-called "artificial reefs" – a practice that dates back to the Liberty Ship Act of 1972. Since the program's inception, approximately 45 ships have been disposed of at sea, along with untold tons of toxic substances such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals built into each vessel, as well as many millions of dollars-worth of steel and non-ferrous metal resources. "

Read more here


U.S. Government Ends The Sinking Of Old Ships as Artificial Reefs:

'via Blog this'

The costs of dumping

The BAN report, "Jobs and Dollars Overboard: The Economic Case against Dumping U.S. Naval Vessels at Sea," details economic advantages of dismantling obsolete vessels for recycling, including jobs, the avoidance of externalized costs of pollution, damage to the environment and climate, as well as the conservation of metals resources.

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Full Jobs and Dollars Overboard report (in PDF format)