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New oil dispersant
Volume 10/Number 2/February 1979
ashore included some of Spain's richest oyster and shellfish centres. The coastline now at risk also suffered the effects of the Urquiola grounding in 1976 when 110 000 tons of oil was spilled at the entrance to La Coruna harbour.
Sea Bed in Focus A new underwater ultrasonic camera that can identify objects as small as 0.5 m m in diameter at a range of 10 m at depths down to 300 m has been developed by the electronics group, EMI. The makers claim that the camera can improve picture resolution by a factor of three over the best previously obtainable. It uses a particularly sensitive method of collecting sound waves reflected back by the objects viewed. The collector is a single quartz crystal about 100 mm in diameter. Behind the crystal a sheet of epoxy resin receives the returned sound waves and converts the sound image into a picture on a TV screen.
Pollution Control in the Fraser River Estuary The estuary of the Fraser River serves as the nursery area for a series of economically very significant runs of Pacific salmon and has important waterfowl habitats. The estuary has become progressively more polluted in recent years, due largely to increasing discharge of toxic and organic wastes, although pollution controls through a provincial permit system have required treatment of sanitary sewage discharged by the City of Vancouver and adjacent municipalities. Pollution control is now to be integrated within a comprehensive management plan involving co-operating departments of both Federal and Provincial governments with citizen input. The stated control objectives are to include estuary-wide waterquality suitable for fish and wildlife, and swimmingquality water at designated areas. Controls will include restricting foreshore industrial developments to designated areas and permitting only those industries dependent on water access. The intent is that there shall be no further net loss of wetlands and that use of toxic chemicals by water-adjacent industries shall be carefully controlled.
D. V. ELLIS
More Tanker Disasters The Greek supertanker Andros Patria carrying 208 000 tons of crude oil was left drifting helplessly 50 km off the coast of N.W. Spain after an explosion ruptured three of its 13 tanks. It was abandoned after fire broke out, and 34 of her crew were lost when their lifeboats were swamped by heavy seas. Early reports indicated that a slick at least 20 km long had spread from the stricken ship within 24 hours of the disaster, and the coastline hit by the first oil to come
The horrific explosion at the Gulf oil port at Whiddy Island two miles off Bantry, in south west Ireland killed 50 crewmen and port workers on board the French tanker Betelgeuse. The disaster happened as the ship's 140000 ton cargo of Arabian crude oil was being unloaded and has added to the growing fears about operations there. The Irish Government has launched a major investigation into the cause of the disaster, and investigations are also being carried out by Total, which chartered the tanker, and the Compagnie Navales des Petrols, which owned the eleven year old vessel. Controversy has always surrounded the siting of the terminal at Bantry, which is one of Ireland's most beautiful bays. Following the series of oil spills in recent year (24 have been reported in 7 years) the Irish Government warned that further incidents could lead to the enforced closure of the oil operations there. Pollution arising from the present disaster appears to be much less than could have been anticipated, probably because much of the 40 000 tons of oil not unloaded was burned in the fire which followed the explosion.
Black Start at Sullom Voe Only a month after the opening of Europe's largest and most sophisticated oil terminal at Sullom Voe, Shetland, an 'unexpected' oil spill quickly highlighted the apparently unavoidable ecological risks posed by such installations and the equally apparent lack of effective 'clean-up' equipment. The tanker Esso Bernicia collided with the terminal jetty, gashed her side and lost 1100 tons of bunker fuel. The terminal operators BP admitted that they had not been prepared for a spill of this particular fuel and as a result the oil lay in the harbour contained by booms until pumping equipment was obtained. After 4 days however one b o o m failed, its replacement also failed and 600 tons of oil escaped. Similar efforts to protect nearby bays by using b o o m s were also unsuccessful. Beaches and rocks were polluted, hundreds of seabirds died and shellfish beds were destroyed. The accident and the ensuing mishaps have done little to reassure Shetland Islanders that a more serious spill could be effectively tackled once the terminal becomes fully operational and is handling 20000 tons of oil an hour.
New Oil Dispersant The first official application in the United States of Exxon's chemical dispersant Corexit 9527 is claimed to have successfully dealt with a spillage of fuel oils from a barge which sank off Breezy Point, Queens, New York, causing pollution on five holiday recreational beaches. 35
Marine Pollution Bulletin
After the application of the chemical which causes the oil to biodegrade more readily and prevents the oil adhering to surfaces such as sand, both US Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency observers were reported to be impressed by the speedy dispersal of the oil slick.
Sewage Dilution The initial dilution occurring when sewage is discharged through a sea outfall greatly influences the aesthetic acceptability of conditions at the surface. Now a technical report by the Water Research Centre in England (Application of Coastal Pollution Research. 3. Initial Dilution) summarises data on jet dilution in still water in ways which can be applied to engineering design. It indicates how jet dilution is affected when the receiving water is moving relative to the outfall and discusses the relevance of initial dilution to water quality criteria and the determination of outfall length, which in turn inflicted upon costs.
River Standards Water authorities in Britain are under fire for a decision to relax pollution standards. They are reviewing the existing limitations on permissible sewage and industrial discharges into rivers - and some of the limits will be drastically eased. This move follows the Government's decision to implement Part II of the 1974 Control of Pollution Act later this year. This decision will give the public the right to look at the register of permissible d i s c h a r g e s - a n d bring prosecutions against industries and sewage works that break them. The water authorities claim the review will not worsen the state of the rivers and will protect responsible dischargers from frivolous prosecution. Ironically, the authorities themselves could face the biggest threat from the law since they are responsible for about 80% of discharges into rivers in England and Wales. There is little doubt that a number of discharges do not meet existing standards, which were originally laid down as long-term objectives and can be realised only by massive expenditure on new plants. As the public has no right to object to the new limits, critics fear a delay in the clean-up of rivers. The Anglers' Co-operative Association claims the revision will put back the clean-up by at least 10 years.
Coral Reef Ecology With the initiation of cheaper packaged airfares for international flights to the Pacific coral islands, there is concern that the resulting new wave of tourists may cause increased stress on the coral reef ecosystems. In particular sediments released during building developments, siting of domestic sewage outfalls, 36
airport and harbour development, diversion of fresh water supplies and many other impacts of the tourist trade are known from previous experience to damage coral reef ecology. The search for oil on reef communities poses an additional threat. These problems are presently part of a study being initiated by Unesco with advice from the International Association of Biological Oceanography. Initial proposals for an overall programme concerning the study of coral reef ecology has been prepared by Dr. D. R. Stoddart (U.K.). Attention is now being given to the appointment of a regional expert who will be asked to assess problems of a generic and universal nature in order to help develop Unesco's programme on coral reef ecology. Work in this direction will be carried out through existing laboratories in the region. T. R. P A R S O N S
Whale Census Minke whales are to be the subject of a major survey in the Antarctic. The International Whaling Commission plan to tag 1500 of the whales in a bid to get badly-needed information about their numbers and movements. The tags are pieces of stainless steel with a coded number. They are shot into the whale's blubber, with a £5 reward for the return of the tag if the whale is caught. The cash is offered by the Sea Mammal Research Unit in Cambridge, which will analyse the information. It is the first whale tag project to concentrate on the minke, which is hunted increasingly both for its high quality meat and because larger whales have become scarcer and get greater protection. Japan and Russia have agreed to help the researchers by suspending their whaling operations in the Indian Ocean sector of the Antarctic earmarked for the tagging.
Anti-Pollution Training for Ships Officers The international conference on Training and Certification of Seafarers has agreed to a convention requiring ships officers to have new training in anti-pollution measures. It was decided that such training should cover oil tanker safety, fire safety measures, pollution prevention and control, and obligations under international laws and regulations. UNEP is said to be closely following the response of governments to this new convention which will come into force only after ratification by 25 states governing at least 50°-/o of world merchant fleets total gross registered tonnage.
Sea Trout Eggs Exported Brittany's rivers, some of them badly polluted in past years, should soon be home for large numbers of sea trout. More than 150 000 sea trout eggs have been sent to France
ashore included some of Spain's richest oyster and shellfish centres. The coastline now at risk also suffered the effects of the Urquiola grounding in 1976 when 110 000 tons of oil was spilled at the entrance to La Coruna harbour.
Sea Bed in Focus A new underwater ultrasonic camera that can identify objects as small as 0.5 m m in diameter at a range of 10 m at depths down to 300 m has been developed by the electronics group, EMI. The makers claim that the camera can improve picture resolution by a factor of three over the best previously obtainable. It uses a particularly sensitive method of collecting sound waves reflected back by the objects viewed. The collector is a single quartz crystal about 100 mm in diameter. Behind the crystal a sheet of epoxy resin receives the returned sound waves and converts the sound image into a picture on a TV screen.
Pollution Control in the Fraser River Estuary The estuary of the Fraser River serves as the nursery area for a series of economically very significant runs of Pacific salmon and has important waterfowl habitats. The estuary has become progressively more polluted in recent years, due largely to increasing discharge of toxic and organic wastes, although pollution controls through a provincial permit system have required treatment of sanitary sewage discharged by the City of Vancouver and adjacent municipalities. Pollution control is now to be integrated within a comprehensive management plan involving co-operating departments of both Federal and Provincial governments with citizen input. The stated control objectives are to include estuary-wide waterquality suitable for fish and wildlife, and swimmingquality water at designated areas. Controls will include restricting foreshore industrial developments to designated areas and permitting only those industries dependent on water access. The intent is that there shall be no further net loss of wetlands and that use of toxic chemicals by water-adjacent industries shall be carefully controlled.
D. V. ELLIS
More Tanker Disasters The Greek supertanker Andros Patria carrying 208 000 tons of crude oil was left drifting helplessly 50 km off the coast of N.W. Spain after an explosion ruptured three of its 13 tanks. It was abandoned after fire broke out, and 34 of her crew were lost when their lifeboats were swamped by heavy seas. Early reports indicated that a slick at least 20 km long had spread from the stricken ship within 24 hours of the disaster, and the coastline hit by the first oil to come
The horrific explosion at the Gulf oil port at Whiddy Island two miles off Bantry, in south west Ireland killed 50 crewmen and port workers on board the French tanker Betelgeuse. The disaster happened as the ship's 140000 ton cargo of Arabian crude oil was being unloaded and has added to the growing fears about operations there. The Irish Government has launched a major investigation into the cause of the disaster, and investigations are also being carried out by Total, which chartered the tanker, and the Compagnie Navales des Petrols, which owned the eleven year old vessel. Controversy has always surrounded the siting of the terminal at Bantry, which is one of Ireland's most beautiful bays. Following the series of oil spills in recent year (24 have been reported in 7 years) the Irish Government warned that further incidents could lead to the enforced closure of the oil operations there. Pollution arising from the present disaster appears to be much less than could have been anticipated, probably because much of the 40 000 tons of oil not unloaded was burned in the fire which followed the explosion.
Black Start at Sullom Voe Only a month after the opening of Europe's largest and most sophisticated oil terminal at Sullom Voe, Shetland, an 'unexpected' oil spill quickly highlighted the apparently unavoidable ecological risks posed by such installations and the equally apparent lack of effective 'clean-up' equipment. The tanker Esso Bernicia collided with the terminal jetty, gashed her side and lost 1100 tons of bunker fuel. The terminal operators BP admitted that they had not been prepared for a spill of this particular fuel and as a result the oil lay in the harbour contained by booms until pumping equipment was obtained. After 4 days however one b o o m failed, its replacement also failed and 600 tons of oil escaped. Similar efforts to protect nearby bays by using b o o m s were also unsuccessful. Beaches and rocks were polluted, hundreds of seabirds died and shellfish beds were destroyed. The accident and the ensuing mishaps have done little to reassure Shetland Islanders that a more serious spill could be effectively tackled once the terminal becomes fully operational and is handling 20000 tons of oil an hour.
New Oil Dispersant The first official application in the United States of Exxon's chemical dispersant Corexit 9527 is claimed to have successfully dealt with a spillage of fuel oils from a barge which sank off Breezy Point, Queens, New York, causing pollution on five holiday recreational beaches. 35
Marine Pollution Bulletin
After the application of the chemical which causes the oil to biodegrade more readily and prevents the oil adhering to surfaces such as sand, both US Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency observers were reported to be impressed by the speedy dispersal of the oil slick.
Sewage Dilution The initial dilution occurring when sewage is discharged through a sea outfall greatly influences the aesthetic acceptability of conditions at the surface. Now a technical report by the Water Research Centre in England (Application of Coastal Pollution Research. 3. Initial Dilution) summarises data on jet dilution in still water in ways which can be applied to engineering design. It indicates how jet dilution is affected when the receiving water is moving relative to the outfall and discusses the relevance of initial dilution to water quality criteria and the determination of outfall length, which in turn inflicted upon costs.
River Standards Water authorities in Britain are under fire for a decision to relax pollution standards. They are reviewing the existing limitations on permissible sewage and industrial discharges into rivers - and some of the limits will be drastically eased. This move follows the Government's decision to implement Part II of the 1974 Control of Pollution Act later this year. This decision will give the public the right to look at the register of permissible d i s c h a r g e s - a n d bring prosecutions against industries and sewage works that break them. The water authorities claim the review will not worsen the state of the rivers and will protect responsible dischargers from frivolous prosecution. Ironically, the authorities themselves could face the biggest threat from the law since they are responsible for about 80% of discharges into rivers in England and Wales. There is little doubt that a number of discharges do not meet existing standards, which were originally laid down as long-term objectives and can be realised only by massive expenditure on new plants. As the public has no right to object to the new limits, critics fear a delay in the clean-up of rivers. The Anglers' Co-operative Association claims the revision will put back the clean-up by at least 10 years.
Coral Reef Ecology With the initiation of cheaper packaged airfares for international flights to the Pacific coral islands, there is concern that the resulting new wave of tourists may cause increased stress on the coral reef ecosystems. In particular sediments released during building developments, siting of domestic sewage outfalls, 36
airport and harbour development, diversion of fresh water supplies and many other impacts of the tourist trade are known from previous experience to damage coral reef ecology. The search for oil on reef communities poses an additional threat. These problems are presently part of a study being initiated by Unesco with advice from the International Association of Biological Oceanography. Initial proposals for an overall programme concerning the study of coral reef ecology has been prepared by Dr. D. R. Stoddart (U.K.). Attention is now being given to the appointment of a regional expert who will be asked to assess problems of a generic and universal nature in order to help develop Unesco's programme on coral reef ecology. Work in this direction will be carried out through existing laboratories in the region. T. R. P A R S O N S
Whale Census Minke whales are to be the subject of a major survey in the Antarctic. The International Whaling Commission plan to tag 1500 of the whales in a bid to get badly-needed information about their numbers and movements. The tags are pieces of stainless steel with a coded number. They are shot into the whale's blubber, with a £5 reward for the return of the tag if the whale is caught. The cash is offered by the Sea Mammal Research Unit in Cambridge, which will analyse the information. It is the first whale tag project to concentrate on the minke, which is hunted increasingly both for its high quality meat and because larger whales have become scarcer and get greater protection. Japan and Russia have agreed to help the researchers by suspending their whaling operations in the Indian Ocean sector of the Antarctic earmarked for the tagging.
Anti-Pollution Training for Ships Officers The international conference on Training and Certification of Seafarers has agreed to a convention requiring ships officers to have new training in anti-pollution measures. It was decided that such training should cover oil tanker safety, fire safety measures, pollution prevention and control, and obligations under international laws and regulations. UNEP is said to be closely following the response of governments to this new convention which will come into force only after ratification by 25 states governing at least 50°-/o of world merchant fleets total gross registered tonnage.
Sea Trout Eggs Exported Brittany's rivers, some of them badly polluted in past years, should soon be home for large numbers of sea trout. More than 150 000 sea trout eggs have been sent to France