Suisan Bay Ghost Fleet releasing toxic materials
Aquatic life and fishers in Suisan Bay face the danger of heavy metal contamination from more than 21 tons of lead, zinc, barium, copper and other toxic metals that have sloughed off or washed away from a fleet of decommissioned government ships stored in the bay.
The revelations come in a 610-page draft report commissioned by the U.S. Maritime Administration after the Contra Costa Times detailed the deteriorating conditions of the ships in May 2006.
Sediment samples conducted by the paper indicate a significant threat to animals and anyone eating fish from the area.
The draft report, according to the paper, suggests that dozens of the 80-plus World War II-era vessels are a much greater risk to the environment than MarAd previously acknowledged.
The report details that at least 21 tons of seven toxic metals, in addition to quantities of sloughed off paint, have fallen or been washed into the bay, with at least another 66 tons still on the vessels.
Analysis of the report by the paper's outside consultants suggests that the materials still aboard the vessels are likely to wind up in the bay if not cleaned up in situ.
The MarAd report examined 40 vessels in the mothballed fleet and took 24 samples from the bay floor around the vessel. Government investigators found that the World War II-era paint, applied long before lead regulation in paints was mandatory, is highly toxic. Though only 25 percent of the paint has entered the bay, the remaining 75 percent is badly peeling.
The federal government has been using Suisan Bay as a storage area for decommissioned vessels since just after World War II. At one time the 'Ghost Fleet' numbered in the hundreds. Today about 80 are left, with 55 classified as either ready for disposal or being readied. Despite Congressional deadlines, the disposal of the fleet, costing upwards of $1 million per vessel, have been hampered by increased regulatory demands and the lack of any West Coast ship breaking facilities.
