Notes from the Field: Exposures to Chemical Munitions During Commercial Fishing Operations — New Jersey, 2016–2023
Abstract
Until 1970, an estimated 17,000 tons of unexploded World War I and World War II chemical warfare munitions (CWMs), weapons designed to disperse toxic chemical agents to cause mass casualties or death, were disposed of off the U.S. Atlantic coast (1).Dredging, a commercial fishing method used to harvest seafloor species, occasionally results in the unintentional recovery of CWMs.These events have resulted in severe worker injuries (Figure ) and potential food contamination (2,3).Three events associated with recovered CWMs that caused injuries or food contamination occurred in the mid-Atlantic and New England during 2004-2012 (2); this report describes three events that occurred off the New Jersey coast in August 2016,
Fields of Study & Subjects
Pesticide Exposure and Toxicity
Disaster Response and Management
Occupational Health and Performance
Publication details
- Journal / source
- MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
- Volume
- 75
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 108–109
- Publication date
- 5 March 2026
- Language
- EN