Page 262 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

© C. Lambert. USS Mississinewa sunk in 1944, Federated States of Micronesia.
One example of a historic
wreck posing a high-risk for the environment is the wreck of the USS Mississinewa, an oil tanker originally supposed to supply aviation fuel and heavy marine fuel oil to the US Pacific Fleet anchored off Ulithi Atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia. On 20 November 1944 it had been attacked by a Japanese torpedo and sank, hitting the seabed at a depth of 40 m of water. A tropical storm disturbed the 57-year old wreck in July 2001, causing the oil cargo to spill. It polluted the area and was not contained until more than
a month later releasing in the meantime between 68,000 to 91,000 litres of oil.This incident led to the establishment of the regional PACPOL programme. The aims of the PACPOL are to prevent or minimise damage to marine and coastal environments and resources as a result of marine spills from World War II wrecks and to ensure that any action taken will respect the character of these sites as war memorials and grave sites.
An even more problematic issue is formed by the presence of containers with toxic or explosive content. It is obvious that such substances have been transported in ever greater quantities since early times and at least since the industrial revolution. Unfortunately, they have also been lost at sea. Even worse, they have been dumped in great quantities in the context of armed conflict or clearance actions that followed. Such objects evidently pose a serious problem, the more so since they are encountered by fishermen and recreationists. They may be intertwined with other objects or may be part of an unfortunate, but often important cultural heritage. In any case, they do not contribute to a pleasant experience when encountered in isolation or as part of a heritage site. They are environmentally dangerous if touched or unstable. Archaeologists that are charged with heritage assessment and the preparation of heritage decisions are constantly reminded of this, both in relation to impact studies, to inventory and to regular management.
Nevertheless, heavy metals and toxic substances are
not just characteristic of relatively modern wrecks. Cargoes of ingots, raw materials and chemical ingredients are as old as seafaring itself. Such car-
goes would have been processed had they arrived at
their final destination. It is for this reason that they
offer exceptional opportunities for research. There
is no other source that allows for any quantitative analysis of these materials, and consequently, some
such cargo deposits are considered to be among the 261
• Archaeological ob- jects are alien to the natural environment.
• Archaeological sites are often special biotopes.
• Environmentally sus- pect substances may present a hazard, but can also be important for research.
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Environment