Toxische Munition im Küstenmeer – Wer muss aufräumen und wer soll zahlen?

After the Second World War, when tidying up Germany, 1.6 million tons of munition have been dumped in the German coastal waters of the North and Baltic Seas. For decades, removing the munition has not been an issue, as it was not considered to be a threat to the safety of navigation. But, for a few years, biologists have been finding evidence that rusting munition and dissolving TNT poses a threat, if not to the safety of marine traffic, but to the environment, and of consumed to the human health. Pertaining to these scientific results, former judgments, which have denied a federal obligation to clean and pay, appear outdated. First, the article describes the scientific findings, which explain, why rustingmunition on the seafloor is an environmental problem. It then discusses relevant legal provisions of international, European and constitutional law, elaborating on the question if there is an obligation to clean up and, who will have to bear the burden.

Autoren: Dr. Moritz von Rochow und Till Günther