<i>Notes from the Field:</i> Exposures to Chemical Munitions During Commercial Fishing Operations — New Jersey, 2016–2023

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, August 2017, and October 2023. Investigation and Outcomes Data Source and AnalysisEvent details, including CWM specifics and handling, means of exposure, nature of injury and treatment, contamination and destruction of food, and vessel environmental response, were summarized by reviewing medical and billing records, poison control intake notes, correspondence with state and federal agencies, and information obtained from crewmembers.FIGURE.Example of injury to skin exposed to sulfur mustardcontaining chemical warfare munitions* Photo/U.S. Air Force