Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Volume 10/Number 9/September 1979 the nations, according to their level of development. It means that less developed countries on the south shore wil...

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Volume 10/Number 9/September 1979

the nations, according to their level of development. It means that less developed countries on the south shore will be allowed to put more waste into the water from a much smaller number of factories than their highly industrialized counterparts to the north.

Wastes on Spanish Beaches Inspections by public health officials have revealed that discharges of untreated urban and industrial waste has resulted in dangerously high levels of contamination on a number of holiday beaches along the south-east coast of

Spain. Two beaches in the region of La Albuferta were so seriously affected that health experts have called for them to be totally closed to the public. Nineteen other beaches were also found to be contaminated, many close to popular Costa Blanca holiday resorts. Nine were said to be highly contaminated and the remaining ten had pollution levels considerd "just tolerable".

Harrisburg Accident The mishap involving the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor at Harrisburg, in the United States, did not lead to any direct discharges of radioactive waste into the river skirting the atomic plant. A report in Highlights-the Water Pollution Control Federation Journal, Vol. 16, No. 5-reveals that a discharge of 'slightly contaminated' water from a holding tank was a 'routine' discharge in compliance with the plant's licence.

Round-the-World News Scotland The fin'st prosecution of a company drilling for oil in the North Sea off Scotland resulted in the c o m p a n y - M o b i l being cleared of blame for a pollution accident. An Aberdeen court heard that an accidental small discharge of oil had occurred during a drilling operation, but the design of the platform had incorporated features to protect against this type of spillage and Mobil had established a defence that they were not to blame.

France The French Government's Committee Inter-Ministeriale d'action pour la Nature et l'Environment (CIANE) has

Correction In the article " A n attempted pollution abatement in the Gulf of La Napoule (Cannes, France)" Mar. Pollut. Bull.,

launched a 15 year programme to clean up the nation's waters. The project will include studies and pollution abatement programmes for all rivers, lakes, harbours, estuaries and other water resources.

Hong Kong All discharges into Hong Kong waters will have to be licensed under new legislation proposed in the colony. The new laws, at present being drafted by its environmental protection officer for water pollution control, will also restrict the quantities of polluting and toxic materials entering Hong Kong's coastal waters and its 250 miles of streams and rivers. Other clean-up measures proposed include a maximum SHK 5 000 fine for throwing refuse overboard from junks and ships, aquatic scavenging machines to scoop up rubbish from the vessels typhoon shelters, official dumping sites for reclamation sludge to stop indiscriminate dumping and a number of new sewage plants. Giving initial details of the new curbs the environmental protection officer Mr David Mackays warned that they were necessary immediately to prevent a deterioration of the pollution situation which would be both "rapid and severe". He hopes that his measures will contain the situation in the short term and eventually set high standards of pollution control over the next 10 or 15 years.

UK Light aircraft and small boats were used to tackle oil pollution caused when the West German tanker Tarpenbeck ran aground off the Isle of Wight on the British south coast in early July. Diesel oil spilled from the tanker's fuel tanks was tackled with dispersant spraying equipment and an inflatable boom was placed around the vessel to prevent any oil reaching nearby beaches. A Dutch salvage team succeeded in righting the tanker and pumped out the oil remaining in her tanks before towing the crippled ship to a European shipyard for repairs.

USA Such is the level of pollution on beaches on the south east of Station Island, New York, that when several thousand gallons of oil spilled by a tanker were washed shore, the authorities found it unnecessary to rake action. A spokesman for the New York Park Department is quoted as saying "Because of existing pollution, these beaches are already designated as unsafe for bathing".

10, 163-166 (1979) by G. L. Bellan, the caption to Fig. 1 should read: Fig. 1 Distribution of subnormal zone (1) in 1973.

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