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Toxic Peroxide Found on Dutch Beach After Cargo Ship Loses 277 Containers

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Rough weather caused more than 270 shipping containers to fall off a large cargo ship in the North Sea,
including ones containing a toxic substance. Some of the dangerous material washed up on a Dutch
island near the German border.CreditCreditDutch Coastguard, via Reuters

By Milan Schreuer

Jan. 4, 2019

BRUSSELS — The Dutch authorities were struggling on Friday to respond to a possible environmental
crisis after a cargo ship sailing the North Sea during a storm lost 277 giant shipping containers, including
at least one carrying a toxic substance.

The Netherlands deployed 100 troops to help clean up after the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship MSC Zoe
hit “heavy weather” that threw hundreds of the colorful containers overboard, the Mediterranean
Shipping Company, which owns the vessel, said in a statement.

Dutch soldiers, volunteers and the mayor of Schiermonnikoog, Ineke van Gent, center left, cleaning up
the island’s coastline on Friday.

Credit

Remko De Waal/EPA, via Shutterstock

Image

Dutch soldiers, volunteers and the mayor of Schiermonnikoog, Ineke van Gent, center left, cleaning up
the island’s coastline on Friday.CreditRemko De Waal/EPA, via Shutterstock

While shipping accidents are inevitable, they rarely occur on this scale. “It does happen from time to
time that ships lose a few containers,” said Wendy Geertsma, a spokeswoman for a government agency
responsible for safety in the northern Dutch province of Friesland. “But never that many, and here we’re
dealing with three containers filled with toxic substances, too.”
Among the thousands of containers that the MSC Zoe was carrying to the German port of Bremerhaven
from Antwerp, Belgium, on Wednesday were three containing seven tons of peroxide powder each in
small bags, Ms. Geertsma said. One such bag was found on Thursday on a beach in Schiermonnikoog, a
Dutch island near the German border. It was not clear how many of the three containers went
overboard.

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Organic peroxides are acids that can be used to synthesize other chemicals commonly found in
disinfectants or cleaning products. They can cause minor irritation upon contact with the skin in low
concentration, and can be highly toxic in higher concentration or if inhaled.

North

Sea

SCHIERMONNIKOOG

AMELAND

TERSCHELLING

VLIELAND

FRIESLAND
Amsterdam

NETHERLANDS

GERMANY

40 MILES

By The New York Times

Some of the hundreds of containers thrown overboard appear to have broken open, spilling their
contents into the frigid waters and onto beaches nearby, while others are thought to have sunk. A few
containers were still bobbing in the North Sea on Friday, imperiling sea traffic, and 22 had washed ashore
by Friday afternoon, safety officials in Friesland said.

Clothing, packaging and light bulbs have washed up on Dutch beaches, where volunteers and local
politicians worked Friday alongside Dutch soldiers in cleanup efforts. The debris appears to be
concentrated on the Frisian islands of Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog.

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Ineke van Gent, the mayor of Schiermonnikoog, called the accident a “disaster for nature,” and asked for
emergency help. The local authorities were also quick to warn volunteers in the cleanup not to touch any
of the white bags, asking that they call emergency services workers to collect them.

Some of the containers broke open, spilling their goods into the sea; others probably sank; and a few are
still floating, imperiling sea traffic, officials said.

Credit

Reuters
Image

Some of the containers broke open, spilling their goods into the sea; others probably sank; and a few are
still floating, imperiling sea traffic, officials said.CreditReuters

Maj. Sjaak van Elten, a spokesman for the Dutch Defense Ministry, said that 100 troops had been sent to
the island of Schiermonnikoog on Friday and that they would continue cleaning up debris this weekend.
He noted that Schiermonnikoog was one of the country’s “most scarcely populated islands, with the
least capacity for volunteering, and it’s there that most of the rubbish is washing ashore.”

“It’s not mopping up with the tap open anymore,” Major van Elten said, using a Dutch expression
referring to an impossible, pointless task. “But after every high tide, new stuff arrives on the beaches, so
the cleaning work continues day after day.”

The Mediterranean Shipping Company said in a statement on Friday that it was using fast boats to tow
drifting containers and sonar-tracing vessels for underwater recovery. It also deployed drones to try to
prioritize what to recover.

Dutch soldiers on Schiermonnikoog on Friday. A bag of peroxide was among the debris scattered on a
beach there by the container spill.

Credit

Remko De Waal/EPA, via Shutterstock

Image

Dutch soldiers on Schiermonnikoog on Friday. A bag of peroxide was among the debris scattered on a
beach there by the container spill.CreditRemko De Waal/EPA, via Shutterstock

The MSC Zoe has arrived in Bremerhaven, Germany, where the authorities said they planned to
investigate what might have happened during the storm. The Dutch authorities said on Friday that they
were opening a criminal inquiry.
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It is not clear if more than one of the containers carrying peroxide powders spilled its contents, nor how
many of the bags with the toxic substance might have broken. But seven tons of peroxide thrown into
the North Sea — assuming the two other containers remained safely onboard — could do considerable
damage to fauna and flora and could harm people who touch or inhale it, safety officials warned.

There is one reason for hope, however. The peroxide powder is biodegradable and loses its toxicity after
roughly 30 days in contact with water, the officials said.