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Germany again in dock over water standards
Marine PollutionBulleti~
Belt and Braces for Tankers There is growing pressure from environmentalists to reduce the risk of oil pollution from tanker collisions and grounding by constructing tankers with double hulls. According to a recent report in Lloyd's List, at least 19 tankers recently ordered at yards in the Far East and Europe will be constructed either with double bottoms or full double hulls. The move is possibly to pre-empt unilateral legislation in the United States on tanker design in the wake of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Fred Olsen has ordered 15 double hull/double bottom vessels, two of which are to be built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast and the remainder in South Korea and Japan. It is estimated that the double skin construction will cost around 12.5% more than a conventional hull for ships around 120-160 000 t and could be more for larger vesels.
Greenpeace Stops Ash Dumping In the run-up to the Third International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea, to be held in The Hague in March, the environmental pressure group, Greenpeace, has made another gesture to atempt to pressurize Britain to stop dumping industrial waste into the North Sea. The British National Power vessel MVA was forced by Greenpeace protesters to give up its attempt to discharge power station fly ash at a government approved zone, 5 miles off the North East coast of England. The Captain of the ship decided to return for reasons of safety after the crew of the Greenpeace vessel Sirius, announced they would lay a 100 m boom in his path. The successful intervention followed several unsuccessful attempts to stop the ship leaving harbour when protesters had chained themselves to the vessel. Tyneside fishermen joined the Greenpeace campaign a few days later when 22 ships gathered off Blyth, Northumberland to harass the MVA when she again put to sea to discharge waste. The fly ash, which results from the burning of pulverized coal in coal-fired power stations, comes from the nearby Blyth Power Station which burns about 16 000 000 t of coal annually producing around 1 000 000 t of fly ash each year. The station has been in operation since 1966.
Ban on Toxic Paints From June 1991 all anti-fouling paints containing mercury and arsenic will be completely banned from use within EEC waters. Even tin-based paints will be limited in their use. This amendment to the 1976 EEC directive on dangerous substances (76/769/EEC) is being made in an attempt to protect marine life and the health and safety of those involved with these materials. Not only does the ban apply to boats but also to cages, 106
floats, nets, and other fishing or shellfish farming equip ment. Organostannic compounds will also be covere( by severe restrictions. No vessel or equipment less thin 25 m long may now use these compounds and to hel l to enforce this organostannic materials will not be sok in less than 25 1. quantities. Where safer alternatives ar, available, the European Commission is attempting tt cut down on the use and production of known carcino genic compounds.
Deformed Fish Embryos in the North Sea Over the past three years the numbers of abnormal fisl embryos found in areas of the North Sea has bee~ alarmingly high. Tests carried out on embryos by th~ Federal Research Institute for Fisheries in Cuxhaven West Germany, showed fatal deformities in at least hal the whiting and 5-20% of plaice, sole and flounde studied. The highest percentage of affected fish wer~ found in the German Bight around the titanium dioxid, production dumping site. Although there is no availaN data on the numbers of abnormal embryos prior to thi research, which makes analysis difficult, it is the big! number showing chromosomal abnormalities whici could point the finger at chemical pollutants. Organo chlorides are particular suspects as their transfer fror the fishes' livers during sperm and egg production coul, have occurred. As the fish also spawn in areas outside these zones i is thought unlikely that any immediate populatio collapses will occur.
Germany Again in Dock Over Water Standards The list of countries before the EEC Court of Justic for failing to comply with European Commission (E( drinking water standards continues to grow (Ma Pollut. Bull. 21, 51). Germany, Belgium, Franct Greece, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, an Italy have all been referred to the court for failing t comply with one or other of the three Communit directives on drinking water standards; Germany fc the third time in less than a year. Major loopholes i West German Federal rules have meant that the wate does not meet the 1980 EEC directive (80/778/EE( on quality standards where the maximum acceptab] levels of 60 harmful substances are stated. Through the directive, the Commission is underlinin its resolve to protect vital water resources and impro~ standards by clamping down on the heavily pollutin effects of pesticides and fertilizers used by the Eur~ pean farming industry. They are also prepared to tak legal action to enforce these directives. The Europea Commissioner Carlo Ripa di Meana is making clea water one of the foremost issues to be resolved. It :, hoped that the recent court referral will force th German Government to take quick action as its o~ public are particularly sensitive to environmental issuer
Volume 21/Number 3/March 1990
Spain, Luxemburg and Ireland also have cases against them but the Commission is trying to find satisfactory compromises rather than referring these countries to the court. The only two countries to escape so far are Portugal and Denmark although each for rather different reasons. Portugal is not yet in a position to bring about the considerable changes needed to clean up its water supply as it does not yet have the necessary government mechanisms available. Although water pollution is now accepted as a major problem, no court proceedings have yet been brought against this country. Denmark's water is clean and shows no toxic contamination-the only EEC country to be in this position.
Electric Bubbles for Thames Thames Water Authority has just taken delivery of a new £3.5 m oxygenating barge, designed to pump oxygen bubbles into the River Thames as part of an anti-pollution campaign. Known as the Thames Bubbler, the 50 m barge uses a water pumping system and a plant which extracts oxygen from the air, compresses and cools it, and feeds the result into huge vessels full of a substance called
Zeolite (which absorbs nitrogen but allows oxygen to pass through). Four submersible pumps draw 2000 1. of water per second into the vessel and through four venturi tubes where pressure is increased and the oxygen enters. The water is then pumped back into the river via 160 nozzles as bubbles which burst on entry oxygenating the water. The barge is powered by three 1 megawatt generating sets, two of which are used constantly and one on standby. All three can be synchronized and paralleled together. The huge generators were manufactured by PG & M of Sandwich, Kent, U.K. and provide electrical power for all on board services, the oxygenation plant and the barge's main propulsion units. Each generating set is equipped with a water cooled exhaust manifold, and hea~2¢ duty silencers keeping the noise outside the vessel to a level of 71 dBs at 10 m. The barge was built on Merseyside by McTay Marine.
Record Breaking Turtle A gigantic turtle died when it became entangled in whelk lines 4 miles off Porthmadog, North Wales last September. The fisherman managed to cut the turtle
One of the three 1 MW Main Power Generators built by PG & M Ltd, installed on the Thames Bubbler barge for oxygenating the River Thames as part of an anti-pollution campaign to keep the river clean.
107
Belt and Braces for Tankers There is growing pressure from environmentalists to reduce the risk of oil pollution from tanker collisions and grounding by constructing tankers with double hulls. According to a recent report in Lloyd's List, at least 19 tankers recently ordered at yards in the Far East and Europe will be constructed either with double bottoms or full double hulls. The move is possibly to pre-empt unilateral legislation in the United States on tanker design in the wake of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Fred Olsen has ordered 15 double hull/double bottom vessels, two of which are to be built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast and the remainder in South Korea and Japan. It is estimated that the double skin construction will cost around 12.5% more than a conventional hull for ships around 120-160 000 t and could be more for larger vesels.
Greenpeace Stops Ash Dumping In the run-up to the Third International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea, to be held in The Hague in March, the environmental pressure group, Greenpeace, has made another gesture to atempt to pressurize Britain to stop dumping industrial waste into the North Sea. The British National Power vessel MVA was forced by Greenpeace protesters to give up its attempt to discharge power station fly ash at a government approved zone, 5 miles off the North East coast of England. The Captain of the ship decided to return for reasons of safety after the crew of the Greenpeace vessel Sirius, announced they would lay a 100 m boom in his path. The successful intervention followed several unsuccessful attempts to stop the ship leaving harbour when protesters had chained themselves to the vessel. Tyneside fishermen joined the Greenpeace campaign a few days later when 22 ships gathered off Blyth, Northumberland to harass the MVA when she again put to sea to discharge waste. The fly ash, which results from the burning of pulverized coal in coal-fired power stations, comes from the nearby Blyth Power Station which burns about 16 000 000 t of coal annually producing around 1 000 000 t of fly ash each year. The station has been in operation since 1966.
Ban on Toxic Paints From June 1991 all anti-fouling paints containing mercury and arsenic will be completely banned from use within EEC waters. Even tin-based paints will be limited in their use. This amendment to the 1976 EEC directive on dangerous substances (76/769/EEC) is being made in an attempt to protect marine life and the health and safety of those involved with these materials. Not only does the ban apply to boats but also to cages, 106
floats, nets, and other fishing or shellfish farming equip ment. Organostannic compounds will also be covere( by severe restrictions. No vessel or equipment less thin 25 m long may now use these compounds and to hel l to enforce this organostannic materials will not be sok in less than 25 1. quantities. Where safer alternatives ar, available, the European Commission is attempting tt cut down on the use and production of known carcino genic compounds.
Deformed Fish Embryos in the North Sea Over the past three years the numbers of abnormal fisl embryos found in areas of the North Sea has bee~ alarmingly high. Tests carried out on embryos by th~ Federal Research Institute for Fisheries in Cuxhaven West Germany, showed fatal deformities in at least hal the whiting and 5-20% of plaice, sole and flounde studied. The highest percentage of affected fish wer~ found in the German Bight around the titanium dioxid, production dumping site. Although there is no availaN data on the numbers of abnormal embryos prior to thi research, which makes analysis difficult, it is the big! number showing chromosomal abnormalities whici could point the finger at chemical pollutants. Organo chlorides are particular suspects as their transfer fror the fishes' livers during sperm and egg production coul, have occurred. As the fish also spawn in areas outside these zones i is thought unlikely that any immediate populatio collapses will occur.
Germany Again in Dock Over Water Standards The list of countries before the EEC Court of Justic for failing to comply with European Commission (E( drinking water standards continues to grow (Ma Pollut. Bull. 21, 51). Germany, Belgium, Franct Greece, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, an Italy have all been referred to the court for failing t comply with one or other of the three Communit directives on drinking water standards; Germany fc the third time in less than a year. Major loopholes i West German Federal rules have meant that the wate does not meet the 1980 EEC directive (80/778/EE( on quality standards where the maximum acceptab] levels of 60 harmful substances are stated. Through the directive, the Commission is underlinin its resolve to protect vital water resources and impro~ standards by clamping down on the heavily pollutin effects of pesticides and fertilizers used by the Eur~ pean farming industry. They are also prepared to tak legal action to enforce these directives. The Europea Commissioner Carlo Ripa di Meana is making clea water one of the foremost issues to be resolved. It :, hoped that the recent court referral will force th German Government to take quick action as its o~ public are particularly sensitive to environmental issuer
Volume 21/Number 3/March 1990
Spain, Luxemburg and Ireland also have cases against them but the Commission is trying to find satisfactory compromises rather than referring these countries to the court. The only two countries to escape so far are Portugal and Denmark although each for rather different reasons. Portugal is not yet in a position to bring about the considerable changes needed to clean up its water supply as it does not yet have the necessary government mechanisms available. Although water pollution is now accepted as a major problem, no court proceedings have yet been brought against this country. Denmark's water is clean and shows no toxic contamination-the only EEC country to be in this position.
Electric Bubbles for Thames Thames Water Authority has just taken delivery of a new £3.5 m oxygenating barge, designed to pump oxygen bubbles into the River Thames as part of an anti-pollution campaign. Known as the Thames Bubbler, the 50 m barge uses a water pumping system and a plant which extracts oxygen from the air, compresses and cools it, and feeds the result into huge vessels full of a substance called
Zeolite (which absorbs nitrogen but allows oxygen to pass through). Four submersible pumps draw 2000 1. of water per second into the vessel and through four venturi tubes where pressure is increased and the oxygen enters. The water is then pumped back into the river via 160 nozzles as bubbles which burst on entry oxygenating the water. The barge is powered by three 1 megawatt generating sets, two of which are used constantly and one on standby. All three can be synchronized and paralleled together. The huge generators were manufactured by PG & M of Sandwich, Kent, U.K. and provide electrical power for all on board services, the oxygenation plant and the barge's main propulsion units. Each generating set is equipped with a water cooled exhaust manifold, and hea~2¢ duty silencers keeping the noise outside the vessel to a level of 71 dBs at 10 m. The barge was built on Merseyside by McTay Marine.
Record Breaking Turtle A gigantic turtle died when it became entangled in whelk lines 4 miles off Porthmadog, North Wales last September. The fisherman managed to cut the turtle
One of the three 1 MW Main Power Generators built by PG & M Ltd, installed on the Thames Bubbler barge for oxygenating the River Thames as part of an anti-pollution campaign to keep the river clean.
107