Wealthy Martha's Vineyard residents fume as scientists look to drop highly corrosive substance into ocean near the ritzy island

As part of a new strategy to fight climate change, scientists are proposing dropping toxic sodium hydroxide into the ocean just 10 miles southwest of Martha's Vineyard as soon as September of this year, angering both locals and environmental groups.

Researchers at the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) are awaiting approval from the EPA to release a 6,600-gallon mixture of sodium hydroxide solution and freshwater into the Atlantic, in hopes that this will boost the ocean's ability to absorb carbon dioxide emissions. 

The ocean is crucially important in offsetting greenhouse gases, with experts saying it absorbs 25 percent of all carbon dioxide on Earth.

The scientists behind this 'LOC-NESS' experiment, (which stands for Locking Away Ocean Carbon in the Northeast Shelf and Slope) equate their hypothesis to giving the ocean a huge dose of Tums, thereby increasing the pH and allowing the seawater to take in more planet-warming gases. 

But fuming residents and environmentalists are putting up a fight, arguing that sodium hydroxide, otherwise known as lye which is highly corrosive, is harmful substance that could kill wildlife.

Pictured: A nontoxic test release of dye the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution did south of Cape Cod in August 2023. This could be what the eventual dump of sodium hydroxide into the ocean near Martha's Vineyard could look like

The coastline of Martha's Vineyard is pictured from a helicopter in 2009

A man from Chappaquiddick, a neighboring island to Martha's Vineyard, shared his concerns about the upcoming plan.

'Does anyone else think this sounds like a very bad idea? Releasing 6,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide solution (lye) 10 miles SW of Martha's Vineyard?' Paul Bleicher posted in a local Facebook group referencing a Boston Globe piece that covered the geoengineering plan.

'The article makes it clear that they expect impact on the living marine environment. It will take days for the pH to return to even a normal range,' he added.

There are others out there who believe this is a bad idea, and chief among them is Benjamin Day, the Massachusetts-based senior campaigner for Friends of the Earth.

'We unequivocally oppose the proposed LOC-NESS geoengineering experiment,' Day said. 'It's astonishing that the EPA is even considering allowing dangerous, caustic chemicals to be dumped in ocean waters that are frequented by at least eight endangered species, including Right Whales and Leatherback Turtles.'

Day also told the Boston Herald that sodium hydroxide is 'an incredibly dangerous substance' that can cause chemical burns for humans and marine animals alike.

Benjamin Day, affiliated with environmental organization Friends of the Earth, is one of the leading critics of the 'LOC-NESS' experiment

The WHOI scientists are aware of the risks to marine life, but they say the 56-acre area where the chemicals will be dropped will only be toxic for about a minute or so, The Boston Globe reported. 

The solution will also be tinged with a red dye to make it easier to track, which will make the eventual chemical dump look similar to a nontoxic test release WHOI did south of Cape Cod in August 2023.

There will be a dedicated marine mammal observer on board the boat from which the sodium hydroxide will be dropped, and scientists say that they'll only proceed if there are no mammals in the area.

What they likely won't be able to control, however, are possible casualties among what other experts say are 'foundational' marine life - such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish larvae.

'I see it, essentially, as trying to address one form of marine pollution — carbon dioxide — with another,' James Kerry, an adjunct marine scientist at the James Cook University in Australia, told the Globe.

Various sailboats and motorcraft moored on a pre season Oak Bluffs Harbor in Martha's Vineyard

Aerial view of of harbor and town of Edgartown, an area that encompasses the east of Martha's Vineyard and all of Chappaquiddick

Multiple scientists, including Nicholas Hawco, a chemical oceanographer at the University of Hawaii, argued the opposite, saying phytoplankton may not be adversely affected in an experiment like this.

'Recently, a few published laboratory experiments have indicated limited adverse effect among various phytoplankton types to alkalinity additions,' Hawco wrote, expressing support for the 'LOC-NESS' experiment. 'However, given the diversity of phytoplankton types in the ocean...fully replicating the natural environment in the laboratory is not possible.'

The EPA has already tentatively approved the 'LOC-NESS' experiment, along with a bigger 66,000-gallon dump of sodium hydroxide 50 miles east of Gloucester, Massachusetts. 

If approved, that will happen next summer.

The ritzy island that could have its waters bombarded with sodium hydroxide in a matter of months is a favorite vacation spot for celebrities, including the Obamas and the Clintons. 

The EPA also opened up a public commenting period that ended a little over a week ago, inviting any interested parties to share their thoughts.

The Obamas are pictured walking on the tarmac at Martha's Vineyard Airport in West Tisbury, Massachusetts in August 2016 for their summer vacation 

The Obamas live on a 28-acre property in Edgartown, Massachusetts on Martha's Vineyard 

Many scientists who doubt humanity can turn around its massive energy consumption and atmospheric pollution in a matter of decades publicly endorsed the gambit by WHOI, believing it to be a clever plan to reduce emissions without needing a society-wide modification to human behavior.

'Globally we will produce billions of tonnes of dangerous excess carbon dioxide. Neutralising this by increasing ocean alkalinity offers a (potentially) scalable method that mimics natural weathering,' wrote Professor Phil Renforth, a geochemist out of Heriot-Watt University in Scotland.

Members of the public, presumably without a scientific background, also commented. 

One woman wrote: 'This proposal bring to mind the comments made by former President Trump that people should take BLEACH to counter act the affects of COVID! The idea that caustic chemicals would be put, on purpose, in our oceans, anywhere, is beyond rational thinking.'

Another wrote: 'Dumping harmful chemicals into the ocean without any baseline data is unacceptable, especially on this scale and in a very important area for a variety of marine species.'

Now that the public commenting period is over, the EPA is expected to make its final decision on the chemical release off the coast of Martha's Vineyard sometime this summer.