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Oil pollution pay-out soars
Volume 12/Number4/April 1981 The four main areas of pollution are domestic sewage, industrial waste, pollution from dredging operations and oil contamination from tankers, pipelines and refineries. There are also dangers from excavation of metalliferous muds, and possible future dumping of waste from nuclear plants into the sea. Currently there are 20 plants operated by Saudi Arabia, and there could be 30 more by the end of the century. Resulting variations in water temperatures in the sea could further reduce the dwindling fish stocks. Jeddah III hope to set up research stations around the coast, and have already set up an Aid Centre to cope with problems from oil pollution.
Oceans '81 A conference titled "Oceans 81" is to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, from September 16 to 18, 1981. The theme of the conference, 'the ocean as a workplace', has been organized by the Marine Technology Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and submission of papers is invited. Further details can be obtained from: Mr. Robert E. Ward, EG & G, Environmental Consultants, Oceans 81, PO Box 132, Portsmouth, R102871, USA. A final call for papers has been made by organizers of the Ocean Pollution 1981 (The North Atlantic) conference to be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, from October 19 to 23, 1981. Manuscripts should be sent to: Dr. J. Farrington, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Wood Hole, MA 02543, USA. The deadline for abstracts is 1 May 1981.
Endangered Species Conference Representatives of 67 countries and more than 100 organizations met recently in New Delhl, India, to discuss new laws on trade in wildlife. A ten-day conference discussed controversial trade in endangered species including the whale, a profitable business in countries such as West Germany, Japan and the USA. The conference was backed by leading conservationist groups including IUCN, WWF and CITES. The trades are not only in ivory, furs, hides and oils but also in live animals for zoos, pet trades and research. Last year in West Germany the value of wildlife imports topped $50 million. The trading has concerned conservationists because of its large scale, both legal and illegal. Coral in the Mediterranean and US cacti are almost exhausted and last year 5 million crocodiles were killed for their hides.
Tanker Spill off New Jersey Almost 100000 gallons of oil spilled off Brooklyn, New York, USA, when an American tanker, the Concho, ruptured its hull. The US Coast Guard immediately grounded the vessel which was carrying more than nine million gallons of oil from a New Jersey terminal. Initial overflights detected no oil leaking but soon a slick resulted and the incident was declared a federal spill by the USCG, who also ordered the
immediate offloading of the tanker's cargo. Boom and skimmers were employed in cleanup operations. USCG has since reported heavy slicks around the Brooklyn area, and a number of oiled birds have been found. Regular overflights are still being conducted and both the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the EPA are monitoring the extent of environmental damage.
Oil Pollution Pay-out Soars The annual report on claims made to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund, which pays spill compensation to damaged parties in member countries, shows expenditure of about £12.5 million ($30.1 million) during 1980. Oil companies in Japan have paid about 44% of this total, and according to Oil Spill Intelligence Report (OSIR) sources, have expressed bitterness about assuming such a large share of costs. Incidents still with outstanding compensation claims against the fund include, according to OSIR, the Tanio disaster off Brittany, France, the German tanker Tarpenbeck, and three Japanese tanker incidents.
Barge Incidents Pollute Two Rivers More than 138 000 gallons of gasoil were spilled into the Neches River, Texas, USA, when a tank barge overflowed during a loading operation. Vacuum trucks, tankers and boom were used in cleanup operations contracted by the owners, Torco Oil Co. of New Orleans, USA, and it was completed in a week. Some days later the US tank barge Chotin 2880 spilled more than 100 000 gallons of gasoline into the Ohio River near Kentucky, after the vessel grounded. The river was closed for some time but evaporation and river currents dispersed the gasoline making cleanup unnecessary.
Round-the-World News Sweden Cleanup operations are still continuing in the southern Stockholm archipelago after up to 1000 tons of heavy fuel oil spilled from the grounded Soviet tanker Jose Marti. The Swedish Water and Air Pollution Research Institute (IVL) are assessing the environmental damage caused by the accident, which was caused by a failed radar system and poor visibility grounding the 27 706-GRT vessel. Booms have been deployed to contain the oil and some bird mortality has already been reported. In another incident off the eastern coast of Sweden, oil patches from an unknown source have covered a 15 km by a few hundred metres area and caused some bird deaths.
Mexico A pumping operation error at a storage tank in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, on the Bay of Campeche, caused up to 75 000 barrels of crude oil to spill into the harbour. 109
Oceans '81 A conference titled "Oceans 81" is to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, from September 16 to 18, 1981. The theme of the conference, 'the ocean as a workplace', has been organized by the Marine Technology Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and submission of papers is invited. Further details can be obtained from: Mr. Robert E. Ward, EG & G, Environmental Consultants, Oceans 81, PO Box 132, Portsmouth, R102871, USA. A final call for papers has been made by organizers of the Ocean Pollution 1981 (The North Atlantic) conference to be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, from October 19 to 23, 1981. Manuscripts should be sent to: Dr. J. Farrington, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Wood Hole, MA 02543, USA. The deadline for abstracts is 1 May 1981.
Endangered Species Conference Representatives of 67 countries and more than 100 organizations met recently in New Delhl, India, to discuss new laws on trade in wildlife. A ten-day conference discussed controversial trade in endangered species including the whale, a profitable business in countries such as West Germany, Japan and the USA. The conference was backed by leading conservationist groups including IUCN, WWF and CITES. The trades are not only in ivory, furs, hides and oils but also in live animals for zoos, pet trades and research. Last year in West Germany the value of wildlife imports topped $50 million. The trading has concerned conservationists because of its large scale, both legal and illegal. Coral in the Mediterranean and US cacti are almost exhausted and last year 5 million crocodiles were killed for their hides.
Tanker Spill off New Jersey Almost 100000 gallons of oil spilled off Brooklyn, New York, USA, when an American tanker, the Concho, ruptured its hull. The US Coast Guard immediately grounded the vessel which was carrying more than nine million gallons of oil from a New Jersey terminal. Initial overflights detected no oil leaking but soon a slick resulted and the incident was declared a federal spill by the USCG, who also ordered the
immediate offloading of the tanker's cargo. Boom and skimmers were employed in cleanup operations. USCG has since reported heavy slicks around the Brooklyn area, and a number of oiled birds have been found. Regular overflights are still being conducted and both the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the EPA are monitoring the extent of environmental damage.
Oil Pollution Pay-out Soars The annual report on claims made to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund, which pays spill compensation to damaged parties in member countries, shows expenditure of about £12.5 million ($30.1 million) during 1980. Oil companies in Japan have paid about 44% of this total, and according to Oil Spill Intelligence Report (OSIR) sources, have expressed bitterness about assuming such a large share of costs. Incidents still with outstanding compensation claims against the fund include, according to OSIR, the Tanio disaster off Brittany, France, the German tanker Tarpenbeck, and three Japanese tanker incidents.
Barge Incidents Pollute Two Rivers More than 138 000 gallons of gasoil were spilled into the Neches River, Texas, USA, when a tank barge overflowed during a loading operation. Vacuum trucks, tankers and boom were used in cleanup operations contracted by the owners, Torco Oil Co. of New Orleans, USA, and it was completed in a week. Some days later the US tank barge Chotin 2880 spilled more than 100 000 gallons of gasoline into the Ohio River near Kentucky, after the vessel grounded. The river was closed for some time but evaporation and river currents dispersed the gasoline making cleanup unnecessary.
Round-the-World News Sweden Cleanup operations are still continuing in the southern Stockholm archipelago after up to 1000 tons of heavy fuel oil spilled from the grounded Soviet tanker Jose Marti. The Swedish Water and Air Pollution Research Institute (IVL) are assessing the environmental damage caused by the accident, which was caused by a failed radar system and poor visibility grounding the 27 706-GRT vessel. Booms have been deployed to contain the oil and some bird mortality has already been reported. In another incident off the eastern coast of Sweden, oil patches from an unknown source have covered a 15 km by a few hundred metres area and caused some bird deaths.
Mexico A pumping operation error at a storage tank in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, on the Bay of Campeche, caused up to 75 000 barrels of crude oil to spill into the harbour. 109