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Dieren en planten

Water en land

Mens en Milieu

Military activities   Soil and ammunition   Gas grenades WWI   Explosives WWII   Pollution   Heavy metals   Copper   Arsenic   Lead   Chromium   
Fragment of a bomb on the tidal flats of Vlieland, Dirk Bruin, Noordwester, Vlieland

Soil pollution from ammunition

Empty grenade shells and bullets end up in the environment after military training. These objects contain heavy metals, which contaminate the ground. Explosives that ended up on the sea floor during past wars (mines, bombs, torpedoes) are sometimes fished up, forming another problem. Sometimes, discarded ammunition is also found on the bottom of the sea.

  • Vliehors

    The air force has been training for almost forty years by Vlieland. Researchers found two times the amount of copper in mud samples in the vicinity of the shooting location on the Vliehors than elsewhere. They also found higher amounts of other metals (chromium, nickel, zinc, aluminum, magnesium and vanadium) than in other areas of the wadden region where no shooting occurs. The level of cadmium in the bottom was not measured. Pollution in the water from the bullets was negligible. This is probably due to the tides. The water around the shooting terrain is refreshed twice a day so that the water pollution is spread throughout the sea environment. Should the practices be held in stationary water, that the picture would be very different, according to the report from Rijkswaterstaat, 'The Wad and ammunition'.

  • Missers

    The military that practice in the Marnewaard must learn how to shoot. That was obvious from the number of bullets which fly over the dike, the so-called missers. They account for around 40% of the total number of fired bullets and end up in the mud flats. The bullets are about as long as a fountain pen and come mostly from 25 millimeter guns from infantry vessels. It is more difficult to collect the empty bullet casings from the Marnewaard, as opposed to the large casings from grenades and guided missiles used on Vlieland. That does not mean that they are less dangerous. Bullets are made from metal, partially heavy metals such as copper, nickel and lead. They rust easily in the salty water: metal 'leaches' in salt. The metal particles end up in the bottom. It has been known for years that the so-called 'heavy metals' poison the environment. They can end up in the food chain and cause a declining resistance in higher species of animals, such as birds and seals.