Deadly Sunken Cargo Recovered by Crane
CAPE MAY, N.J. — Workers using a crane on Tuesday lifted from the ocean floor the first 20 barrels of a deadly arsenic compound that slipped off the deck of a freighter during a storm three months ago.
Four containers holding 441 barrels of arsenic trioxide powder fell off a cargo ship in January. Arsenic trioxide is used in pesticides and rat poison. Inhaling a very small amount of it can kill a person.
Three of the four containers were found on a clam bed about 30 miles off Cape May. The ship’s owners believe the fourth is lying under the others.
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