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Lasers to remove oil spills?
Marine Pollution Bulletin
UK Oil Pollution Cleanup Film The UK Central Office of Information has produced a half hour film called A Clean and Pleasant Land, The film, which was produced for the Warren Spring Laboratory, the laboratory responsible for developing and evaluating techniques of oil pollution control at sea and on beaches, describes the way in which the UK copes with the problems of oil pollution, and illustrates the role of Warren Spring in providing advice, training and R andD backing for both chemical and mechanical methods of dealing with oil pollution. The film is available in 16ram colour from the Central Film Library, Government Building, Bromyard Avenue, London W3 7JB. It is available for sale or hire.
Pollution Effects on Seabirds An international conference is to be held in Aberdeen, Scotland from 26-28 March 1977 on the Changing Seabird Populations o f the North Atlantic. On the 27th March the conference will look in depth at the topic of human influences--fisheries, oil developments and chemical pollution. For further details of the programme write to: Chris Mead, British Trust for Ornithology, Beech Grove, Tring, Herts HP23 5NR.
Conservation of Fur Seals Government representatives at the recent meeting of the Interim Convention on the Conservation of North Pacific Fur Seals (an interim convention which has been in existence for nearly 20 yr) recently recommended to their governments a Protocol providing that: (a) Natives who live on islands where seals breed can take animals for food if that available from other sources, such as research and commercial harvesting, is insufficient. (b) Methods used to capture, mark and harvest the animals should cause as little pain as possible. (c) That the harvest be reduced or suspended on any island where the total number of seals falls below the level necessary to maintain the stocks at maximum productivity. (d) That research be undertaken on the relationship between fur seals and other marine resources, and on the effect of commercial fisheries on fur seals. The convention is an agreement between Canada, Japan, the USA and the USSR to control the harvesting of fur seals in the North Pacific.
Lasers to Remove Oil Spills? A recent paper in Environmental Science and Technology (10, (8), 814, 1976) discusses the feasibility of using lasers to evaporate, decompose and burn crude oil on water surfaces. This at first sight rather bizarre 180
suggestion has been taken to the laboratory experiment stage, and further shipborne work is now proposed. However there are a number of problems, notably the potential effects of wind, waves and seawater contamination, and also the obvious problem that it is difficult to avoid evaporating large quantities of water !
Oil Drilling in the English Channel Applications have been solicited by the UK government from oil companies interested in drilling for oil in a zone around the Isles of Scilly, and near the Lizard and Penzance in Cornwall. This is the fifth round of offshore production licences, and applications have to be in by 5 October 1976. There will be obvious problems in the Channel area, one of the busiest shipping areas in the world, as the drilling rigs will provide an additional hazard to shipping. And the still unresolved dispute between the UK and France over the median line between the two countries, together with the political uncertainties, means that oil companies may not show much enthusiasm for actually drilling on their leases, if they do put bids in, but may prefer to wait and see what develops.
Oil Slick in the Clyde A large oil slick, approximately one mile long and 100 yd wide, has caused problems in the Clyde estuary, and finally reached the shore at Maidens and Dunure. Samples of the oil from the beaches, consisting mainly of tar lumps, were sent to the Clyde River Purification Board laboratories for analysis. It was hoped that the source of the oil might be established, so that those responsible could be made to pay for the cleanup. Otherwise the local authorities or the government will have to foot the bill. Several seabirds had to be destroyed, after being smothered in the oil, which it is thought was probably discharged by a ship cleaning out its bilges.
PCBs in the Hudson River Levels of PCBs in fish from the Hudson River have been causing concern for some time, and the New York State Environmental Commissioner, Ogden R. Reid late last year banned commercial fishing in the river. Now General Electric, which used the PCBs in the manufacture of capacitors, has agreed to pay $3 million towards the cost of cleaning the river. Presumably this will mean removing a large quantity of PCB-contaminated sediment, and disposing of it elsewhere, possibly by incineration.
UK Oil Pollution Cleanup Film The UK Central Office of Information has produced a half hour film called A Clean and Pleasant Land, The film, which was produced for the Warren Spring Laboratory, the laboratory responsible for developing and evaluating techniques of oil pollution control at sea and on beaches, describes the way in which the UK copes with the problems of oil pollution, and illustrates the role of Warren Spring in providing advice, training and R andD backing for both chemical and mechanical methods of dealing with oil pollution. The film is available in 16ram colour from the Central Film Library, Government Building, Bromyard Avenue, London W3 7JB. It is available for sale or hire.
Pollution Effects on Seabirds An international conference is to be held in Aberdeen, Scotland from 26-28 March 1977 on the Changing Seabird Populations o f the North Atlantic. On the 27th March the conference will look in depth at the topic of human influences--fisheries, oil developments and chemical pollution. For further details of the programme write to: Chris Mead, British Trust for Ornithology, Beech Grove, Tring, Herts HP23 5NR.
Conservation of Fur Seals Government representatives at the recent meeting of the Interim Convention on the Conservation of North Pacific Fur Seals (an interim convention which has been in existence for nearly 20 yr) recently recommended to their governments a Protocol providing that: (a) Natives who live on islands where seals breed can take animals for food if that available from other sources, such as research and commercial harvesting, is insufficient. (b) Methods used to capture, mark and harvest the animals should cause as little pain as possible. (c) That the harvest be reduced or suspended on any island where the total number of seals falls below the level necessary to maintain the stocks at maximum productivity. (d) That research be undertaken on the relationship between fur seals and other marine resources, and on the effect of commercial fisheries on fur seals. The convention is an agreement between Canada, Japan, the USA and the USSR to control the harvesting of fur seals in the North Pacific.
Lasers to Remove Oil Spills? A recent paper in Environmental Science and Technology (10, (8), 814, 1976) discusses the feasibility of using lasers to evaporate, decompose and burn crude oil on water surfaces. This at first sight rather bizarre 180
suggestion has been taken to the laboratory experiment stage, and further shipborne work is now proposed. However there are a number of problems, notably the potential effects of wind, waves and seawater contamination, and also the obvious problem that it is difficult to avoid evaporating large quantities of water !
Oil Drilling in the English Channel Applications have been solicited by the UK government from oil companies interested in drilling for oil in a zone around the Isles of Scilly, and near the Lizard and Penzance in Cornwall. This is the fifth round of offshore production licences, and applications have to be in by 5 October 1976. There will be obvious problems in the Channel area, one of the busiest shipping areas in the world, as the drilling rigs will provide an additional hazard to shipping. And the still unresolved dispute between the UK and France over the median line between the two countries, together with the political uncertainties, means that oil companies may not show much enthusiasm for actually drilling on their leases, if they do put bids in, but may prefer to wait and see what develops.
Oil Slick in the Clyde A large oil slick, approximately one mile long and 100 yd wide, has caused problems in the Clyde estuary, and finally reached the shore at Maidens and Dunure. Samples of the oil from the beaches, consisting mainly of tar lumps, were sent to the Clyde River Purification Board laboratories for analysis. It was hoped that the source of the oil might be established, so that those responsible could be made to pay for the cleanup. Otherwise the local authorities or the government will have to foot the bill. Several seabirds had to be destroyed, after being smothered in the oil, which it is thought was probably discharged by a ship cleaning out its bilges.
PCBs in the Hudson River Levels of PCBs in fish from the Hudson River have been causing concern for some time, and the New York State Environmental Commissioner, Ogden R. Reid late last year banned commercial fishing in the river. Now General Electric, which used the PCBs in the manufacture of capacitors, has agreed to pay $3 million towards the cost of cleaning the river. Presumably this will mean removing a large quantity of PCB-contaminated sediment, and disposing of it elsewhere, possibly by incineration.