Pilot study for source pollution detection and risk assessment practices for historical wrecks with and without ammunition

Several thousand wrecks occur in the Danish waters. Some of these may pose a risk to the marine and coastal environments if leakage of bunker oil or pollutants from warfare cargo occur. In this pilot project, the purpose is to gather knowledge on how to map wrecks in the Danish waters, and dis-cuss the best approaches for risk assessment of wrecks relative to impact on cumulative effects. It is recommended to add current knowledge of wrecks in the Danish waters to already developed risk assessment tools such as the WRECKNS tool. In such tools, wreck-specific and site-specific information can be added to evaluate the probability of leakage and the effects of leakage, and to guide the integrated decision support system. Furthermore, there is a need for more research on pollution effect distance from wrecks as well as how the risk varies spatially and temporally in the light of climate changes. National collaboration between Danish govern-mental institutions (agencies, museums, military) and towards private actors should be strengthened as should the transnational collaboration. Hazard-ous wrecks are a growing global problem that should be remediated and mitigated collectively with widely usable solutions.

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