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Irish Sea pollution
Marine Pollution Bulletin
terminology potentially leaves open the option of the disposal to sea of decommissioned nuclear submarines. PETER JONES
Concern over Plutonium Transport Grows International concern over the proposal by Japan to ship plutonium from France continues to grow following a US congress investigation into the plan (see Mar Pollut Bull, 24, 476). Singapore has joined Malaysia and Indonesia in protesting over the shipment through the congested Malacca Strait which has been the scene of several maritime casualties in recent months. Meanwhile, in France, Greenpeace and Japanese nuclear control organizations have joined forces in an attempt to persuade the French Government not to allow the shipment of plutonium to leave France by sea. According to the US based Nuclear Control Institute (NCI), 40 countries along the route of the 4000 t transport ship Akatsuki Maru have already voiced their opposition to her passage near to their coasts. Apparently in the US there are moves to introduce legislation to prevent the ship using US ports and waterways until it had been established that the containers were equipped to withstand all possible dangers. The Akatsuki Maru left Japan in September under naval escort and is due in France towards the end of October even though the French Government have not yet granted an export licence. The vessel is hoping to pick up 1 t of plutonium, which is the product of spent Japanese nuclear fuel, which has been reprocessed at La Hague on the French west coast.
Irish Sea Pollution Following their criticisms of the Scottish River Purification Boards (see Mar Pollut Bull, 24, 474), Greenpeace now focus their attacks on the UK government over its record on Irish Sea pollution. Latest government figures show that UK discharges of some of the most dangerous chemicals, many harmful to marine wildlife (mercury, cadmium and lead), are higher in the Irish Sea than in the North Sea. Levels of the heavy metals cadmium and lead are actually on the increase. Greenpeace blames the Government's 'consent' system, operated by the National Rivers Authority (NRA) which allows industry to legally discharge dangerous chemicals into the rivers and seas. In a talk given to the British Association for the Advancement of Science last September, NRA Chief Scientist, Dr. Jan Pentreath, showed that current regulations cannot ensure the protection of the marine environment because there is insufficient information about the toxic and persistent chemicals which are allowed to be discharged into rivers and seas. A recently leaked internal memo from the NRA reveals that the Government intends that in future the NRA will no longer monitor the most polluting 526
industrial plants, instead the companies will be relied on to police themselves whilst overseen by HM Inspectorate of Pollution. According to Greenpeace, many NRA staff consider that industrial pollution will only get worse. The UK Government committed itself to eliminating Black Listed chemicals, including cadmium and mercury, and reducing inputs of Grey Listed chemicals such as zinc and lead from the marine environment when it signed the Paris Convention in 1974. Despite this, discharges of cadmium, lead and zinc into the Irish Sea have all increased since 1985. In addition, discharges of mercury and lead into the Irish Sea in 1990 were greater than into the North Sea. Greenpeace also report that mussels from the Irish Sea have been found to contain higher levels of mercury, copper, zinc, cadmium and lead than those found in the most polluted part of the North Sea. They also draw attention to the fact that seals in Liverpool Bay have some of the highest levels of mercury and PCB's ever found in seals around the UK coast.
Analytical Chemistry Prize from Merck Entries are now being accepted for the third Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award for Analytical Chemistry. Organized and funded by E. Merck of Darmstadt, Germany, the focus for the 1993 Award is "the analysis of organic compounds in the environment for the ultimate improvement of human life conditions". The Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award was initiated in 1988 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the publication of 'The Testing of Chemical Reagents for Purity' by Dr. Carl Krauch, which heralded the first analytical standard work. It has been named after the founder of The Merck Group who set new standards for quality products and services as far back as the mid 19th century. The sphere of analytical chemistry was of central importance in the early pioneering days after which it became merely an adjunct to synthetic chemistry. Only fairly recently has it been re-acknowledged as an independent science having achieved significant results of importance to all spheres of life. Chemical analysis, in interdisciplinary cooperation with medicine, biology and toxicology, has proved essential to our improved understanding of the affects of chemicals on both man and the environment. The Award is open to young chemists (under 45 yr old) throughout the world. Entrants should present original papers, preferably written in English, that describe new techniques in sample preparation, separation or quantitative determination. They should submit their entries by 31 January 1993 to the Chairman of the Jur?; Professor Dr. Giinther T61g, Institut fiir Spektrochemie und Angewandte Spektroskopie, Postfach 10 13 52, Bunsen-Kirchhoff-Strasse 11, D-4600 Dortmund 1, Germany. An internationally renowned jury will then select the winner(s). A prize of 25 000 DM will be presented to the
terminology potentially leaves open the option of the disposal to sea of decommissioned nuclear submarines. PETER JONES
Concern over Plutonium Transport Grows International concern over the proposal by Japan to ship plutonium from France continues to grow following a US congress investigation into the plan (see Mar Pollut Bull, 24, 476). Singapore has joined Malaysia and Indonesia in protesting over the shipment through the congested Malacca Strait which has been the scene of several maritime casualties in recent months. Meanwhile, in France, Greenpeace and Japanese nuclear control organizations have joined forces in an attempt to persuade the French Government not to allow the shipment of plutonium to leave France by sea. According to the US based Nuclear Control Institute (NCI), 40 countries along the route of the 4000 t transport ship Akatsuki Maru have already voiced their opposition to her passage near to their coasts. Apparently in the US there are moves to introduce legislation to prevent the ship using US ports and waterways until it had been established that the containers were equipped to withstand all possible dangers. The Akatsuki Maru left Japan in September under naval escort and is due in France towards the end of October even though the French Government have not yet granted an export licence. The vessel is hoping to pick up 1 t of plutonium, which is the product of spent Japanese nuclear fuel, which has been reprocessed at La Hague on the French west coast.
Irish Sea Pollution Following their criticisms of the Scottish River Purification Boards (see Mar Pollut Bull, 24, 474), Greenpeace now focus their attacks on the UK government over its record on Irish Sea pollution. Latest government figures show that UK discharges of some of the most dangerous chemicals, many harmful to marine wildlife (mercury, cadmium and lead), are higher in the Irish Sea than in the North Sea. Levels of the heavy metals cadmium and lead are actually on the increase. Greenpeace blames the Government's 'consent' system, operated by the National Rivers Authority (NRA) which allows industry to legally discharge dangerous chemicals into the rivers and seas. In a talk given to the British Association for the Advancement of Science last September, NRA Chief Scientist, Dr. Jan Pentreath, showed that current regulations cannot ensure the protection of the marine environment because there is insufficient information about the toxic and persistent chemicals which are allowed to be discharged into rivers and seas. A recently leaked internal memo from the NRA reveals that the Government intends that in future the NRA will no longer monitor the most polluting 526
industrial plants, instead the companies will be relied on to police themselves whilst overseen by HM Inspectorate of Pollution. According to Greenpeace, many NRA staff consider that industrial pollution will only get worse. The UK Government committed itself to eliminating Black Listed chemicals, including cadmium and mercury, and reducing inputs of Grey Listed chemicals such as zinc and lead from the marine environment when it signed the Paris Convention in 1974. Despite this, discharges of cadmium, lead and zinc into the Irish Sea have all increased since 1985. In addition, discharges of mercury and lead into the Irish Sea in 1990 were greater than into the North Sea. Greenpeace also report that mussels from the Irish Sea have been found to contain higher levels of mercury, copper, zinc, cadmium and lead than those found in the most polluted part of the North Sea. They also draw attention to the fact that seals in Liverpool Bay have some of the highest levels of mercury and PCB's ever found in seals around the UK coast.
Analytical Chemistry Prize from Merck Entries are now being accepted for the third Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award for Analytical Chemistry. Organized and funded by E. Merck of Darmstadt, Germany, the focus for the 1993 Award is "the analysis of organic compounds in the environment for the ultimate improvement of human life conditions". The Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award was initiated in 1988 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the publication of 'The Testing of Chemical Reagents for Purity' by Dr. Carl Krauch, which heralded the first analytical standard work. It has been named after the founder of The Merck Group who set new standards for quality products and services as far back as the mid 19th century. The sphere of analytical chemistry was of central importance in the early pioneering days after which it became merely an adjunct to synthetic chemistry. Only fairly recently has it been re-acknowledged as an independent science having achieved significant results of importance to all spheres of life. Chemical analysis, in interdisciplinary cooperation with medicine, biology and toxicology, has proved essential to our improved understanding of the affects of chemicals on both man and the environment. The Award is open to young chemists (under 45 yr old) throughout the world. Entrants should present original papers, preferably written in English, that describe new techniques in sample preparation, separation or quantitative determination. They should submit their entries by 31 January 1993 to the Chairman of the Jur?; Professor Dr. Giinther T61g, Institut fiir Spektrochemie und Angewandte Spektroskopie, Postfach 10 13 52, Bunsen-Kirchhoff-Strasse 11, D-4600 Dortmund 1, Germany. An internationally renowned jury will then select the winner(s). A prize of 25 000 DM will be presented to the