Poison Gas shells thrown into the sea at your doorstep

idwar SG

11,800 Mustard Gas shells were thrown into the sea from Labrador (Tanjong Balayer pier) into the sea by the British just before they surrendered to the Japanese in Feb 1942.

muti-storey pillbox at Labrador Villa Road facing Sentosa

Another multi storey pillbox at Labrador Villa Road, Singapore. There is a rumour that a tunnel leads from here to Sentosa.

The Labrador tunnels and forts were also used to store the Mustard gas. The poison gas was not used because the japanese did not first use this weapon. Just before the British surrendered, they threw all the poison gas shells into the sea next to the fort in front of Keppel harbour.

Some shells were recovered after the war, some were washed ashore. You can bet some are still lying there, rusting......and one day, ..........arg.......

(ref : PETER ELPHICK-Singapore the Pregnable Fortress Pages 204 to 206)

Do you live in the area?..........

........have you bought your gas mask?
Are you prepared?

FBI SG

will it still b there after 60 years?!

idwar SG

Ask your friends in Bomb Disposal Unit lah......every other day, they still find World War 2 bombs in Singapore.....either in somebody's garden, in a school field, but I think mostly in construction sites........

if people think they cannot explode, just chuck the bomb into the rubbish bin.......but the reason why BDU is alerted is obvious. .......some are so dangerous they cannot be defused, but had to be destroyed in a controlled explosion.

perhaps some kind BDU soul can explain further?

tripwire SG

mustard gas are most effective when dispersed in air and inhaled by the victim.. not when its under water, especially in huge volume of flowing water.

the huge volume of water would render the concentration so low.. its practically harmless...even against fish, otherwise we would see fish dead by the thoudsands along our southern shores. Laughing

another thing is i believe most shells in WW2 are made of copper.. under the sea.. think most long rusted liow... Wink and the content long leaked and shared with our neighbour through the borderless flow of water Mr. Green

ditzy SG

Isn't mustard the thing that goes with hotdogs? Laughing

kotay SG

Then again this could happen instead ...

Bulk MUSTARD can persist for decades in soil or water. When exposed to sea water, mustard forms a thick outer "crust" over a core of mustard which allows the mustard to be brought to the surface where it can injure unsuspecting fishermen who may snare plastic lumps of mustard gas in their nets.

From Centre for Disease Control and Prevention

tankfanatic SG

if people think they cannot explode, just chuck the bomb into the rubbish bin

i extremely suggest not to throw it in the rubish bin ......

SingaporeTyrannosaur SG

Originally posted by idwar:
Ask your friends in Bomb Disposal Unit lah......every other day, they still find World War 2 bombs in Singapore.....either in somebody's garden, in a school field, but I think mostly in construction sites........

Oi, dun anyhow wack your words leh... what "every other day"?... more like once in a while. And no, we don't exactly walk around looking out for blinds and unexploded weapons in our country, nor has anybody died in a rather long time from WW2 weapons Laughing

You make it sound as if the Japanese had a lot of bombs to drop back then... which they didn't.

allentyb SG

Rolling Eyes

i have no idea, mustard gas shells exist in singapore

Dr Who SG

WW2 bomb kills boy at east coast BBQ:

http://www.paraethos.com/obits/sing.htm

or should it read : Boy tries to BBQ Bomb at east Coast?

Fatum SG

when was this ? .... it sounds like a potential entry for the darwin awards ....

tripwire SG

ehh... i dont think that water is open for fishing... Mr. Green in fact.. fishing industry is hardly present in singapore.... Wink

and given the flow of the water there... i think our neighbours fisherman should be worried... not us. Wink

Dr Who SG

WWII bomb found at Orchard Road
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_2002_July_22/ai_89564091

WORLD WAR II BOMB FOUND IN SINGAPORE'S PORT WATERS
http://www.mpa.gov.sg/infocentre/newsreleases/2000/001223.htm

War relic bomb found at Toa Payoh construction site
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/12/eng20060712_282168.html

iveco SG

I think more than 10 years ago liao.

kotay SG

The point of the post is that far from rendering the mustard gas harmless, sea water actually helps it to stay active and lethal for a pretty long time ... :p

IINM people do fish from Labrador Jetty ... but yeah, it's our neighbours that should be worried. Wink

demag_ac SG

Ha, this reminds me of the time my contractor found a bomb or mortar shell when doing excavation for detecting the sewer pumping mains before we start bored piling works.

Happened somewhere along the Sewerage Reserve leading to Kim Chuan Sewerage treatment plant, and this happened at around 4 plus.

We called the Police and they called the BDU down to check the bomb.

We checked with the Officer in charge (from the Police), and he told us that the BDU was thinking of doing a controlled explosion at the location, instead of bringing it to the live firing area for disposal.

All of us (me and the contractor's staff) went wide eyed and told the Officer in charge that the bomb was sitting ontop of a 991mm diameter Sewer pumping mains that was full of shit and what not.

The Officer in charge, after hearing that, went to have a conference with the BDU guys, and came back to inform us that as it is dark (about 7 plus), they would post a Police guard and collect the bomb for safe disposal elsewhere the next morning.

All of us were thinking of all the sewerage that would go flying up the air if they really think of disposing the bomb right there. After that, PUB (Sewer) would have a lot to ask both Minstry of Home Affairs (which controls the Police) and Mindef. Laughing

beavan SG

Shocked Laughing