Toolbox for the Assessment of Marine Munitions impact on biota

Led by the Thünen Institute of Fisheries Ecology in collaboration with other project partners, the DAIMON project developed a set of methods called the EcoTox Toolbox. The Fact Sheets which were parts of the Toolbox were reviewed in course of the DAIMON2 project and are now the Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) recommended by our experts during e.g. transnational EIA procedures required by the Espoo Convention.

​The Ecotox Toolbox is based on the results of and the experience made during extensive biological and chemical field and experimental studies in dumpsites of chemical and of conventional munitions as well as in the laboratory.

The goal is to developed guidance on strategies and methods how to address potential ecological risks for marine organisms caused by dumped munitions and their toxic contents,chemical warfare agents or explosives.

The main Toolbox components are 1) A strategy how to analyse and assess the impact of dumped chemical and conventional munitions and associated hazardous substances on contamination and health status of exposed organisms and 2) A description of methods to be applied. After validation, those methods created tools for detection of munitions’ traces, the release of hazardous substances and the biological effects of exposure in wild marine organisms (e.g., fish and mussels).

Fact sheet ex part 1

Fact sheer ex part 2

In addition, tools are provided addressing other useful approaches (e.g., lab toxicity studies, cage exposure studies) as well as data analysis, risk assessment and the incorporation of the Toolbox into the DAIMON Decision Support System (DSS). 

Technical information on the tools is detailed in individual Toolbox Fact Sheets with information relevant for each method.
​
It is envisaged that the Toolbox shall become a standard approach in future efforts by environmental research and regulatory bodies to monitor and assess ecological threats posed by dumped marine munitions. This is the goal of the DAIMON 2 extension project.

The Ecotox Toolbox in a nutshell - Short practical guidance to explain and apply the Ecotox Toolbox (in simple version)

EcoTox Toolbox Poster 
​

Safety risk for humans 

​Led by TI-FI as a leader for the issue of safety risk for humans and with regard to the project output "Thresholds for seafood", a report "Safety risk for humans" is done summarising the results of the chemical analysis of fish for degradation products/metabolites of arsenic CWA and TNT in the light of their use for the definition of threshold values.

In addition, a review compilation "List of disease symptoms in fish" is done summarising available published literature on toxicity of TNT.