Approximately 1.6 million tons of old munitions on the seabed of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea pose ecological risks through explosions and toxic emissions.

The old munitions, deliberately sunk after the war, pose a significant danger to marine ecosystems. The German government has allocated 100 million euros for a cleanup project, which began in August, involving teams of divers who sort and deposit the munitions underwater. This problem is exacerbated in the Baltic Sea, where water circulation is limited, and the detected toxic substances are at critical levels.