Page 6 September 1980 No. 26 NEW YORK SHELL CLUB Notgs 
Nova Scotia to Florida (1976), on page 279 Enereon and Jeeghsenire. 
Garden Snail, was "widely 
mark that Cepaea nemoralis, the English ee atca toon ee 
introduced into the northern and central GOR UR il Heseeeee” 
Europe" (and) "flourish in widely separated ar 
to op beetle near or in urban areas." te Pere 
OF THE NEW YORK OTTY AREA (1961), page 12: "It seems &o. appear wher- 
ever ornamental shrubs have been imported or introduce an? uch 
a method of transportation would explain its appearance ‘6 
Pacific coastal area. dr 
das cae ba 
: Several months ago I watched a Cousteau Society film on 
na eeiet haves were Reepi av ie drums of extremely toxic materials 
from a sunken ship. The exact area was left vague, but the circun- 
stances were so familiar with a report published in our NOTES 218,7 
that I wrote to the Cousteau Society for verification. Below isa 
reprint of the report in NOTES, "A Chemical 'Time Bomb'," followed by 
the report from the Cousteau Society: 
A CHEMICAL "TIME BOMB" 
A YEAR OF AN BSTIMATED TEN-YEAR CHEMICAL "TIME BOMB" has inexorably 
ticked away in the waters off Italy's southern Adriatic coast. The 
Sunday Times Survey reports a jurisdictional dispute revolving around 
the salvage of 250 tons of tetraethyl and tetramethyl lead that sunk 
in 200 feet of water after the collision last July of a ship of Pan- 
amanian registry with the Yugoslav ship "Cavtat" which was carrying 
900 drums of the anti-knock lead compound. 
The galvanized, painted steel drums have a life expectancy of ten 
years before corrosion effects allow the release of the highly toxic, 
non-water soluble chemical. The inevitable contamination of edible 
local marine populations raises fears of disastrous consequences 
likened to those which occurred in the mercury-polluted Minamata Bay 
in Japan. Further complicating the situation is the fact that warn- 
ings by health officials in the area generally go unheeded -- con- 
taminated shellfish beds containing cholera-carrying molluscs had to 
be destroyed by the Italian Navy several years ago because residents 
refused to believe their fatal effects, 
While the dispute between the Yugoslav and Italian governments rages 
over who will pay for the salvage, with Italy insisting the wreck 
occurred in international waters, British experts predict the dangers 
Salvage operations hold. The dire toxic effects of even minor leaks 
of the compounds, which can be directly absorbed through the skin, 
they say, impose a major hazard on diving personnel. So far, only 
agreement on risk and expense has been reached. When the catastroph- 
ic clock finally ends its count, as yet to be determined is where the 
responsibility will lie or who is to accept the consequences. 
from WATTS JOURNAL, Sept. 1975 
in NYSC NOTES 218.7, Jan. 1976 
The following report appeared in CALYPSO LOG 5(2)- is 
reprinted with the permission of the Sumbibche Sopaeee Me 
