Russia may use chemicals in oil destruction operations in Baltic Sea

Experts in Finland disagree

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Russia is contemplating the use of chemicals in oil destruction operations in the eastern Gulf of Finland.
      So far, no chemicals have been used in dispersing oil spills, but both the Uura and Koivisto harbours have the readiness for helicopter deployment of dispersants.
      Experts in Finland object to both the use of chemicals and burning of the spilled oil, as such means of oil destruction are not seen as environmentally sustainable.
      "These are not suitable methods to be used in the environmentally delicate Baltic Sea. They are definitely not going to replace the tried and tested mechanical oil clean-updestruction methods", assures chief engineer Kalervo Jolma from Finland's Environmental Administration.
      "The decision not to use dispersants in the Baltic Sea was made after careful consideration. The idea is to clean the area", Jolma specifies.
      Dispersants reduce the surface tension of oil, breaking the oil slick into tiny drops in the sea. In Jolma's view the use of dispersants is utterly unsustainable. "Basically, the idea being put forward is not to make the first effort to design a ship or do anything else in order to prevent oil spills, because that would be costly", he notes.
     
According to Gennady N. Semanov, Head of the Environmental Safety of Marine Transport Laboratory at the Central Marine Research and Design Institute in St. Petersburg, dispersants are a worthwhile alternative when oil has to be removed quickly from an ecologically valuable area and the mechanical collection of oil is not possible.
      However, the use of such chemicals requires that their necessity and environmental impact have been evaluated. So far no such evaluations have been carried out for the eastern Gulf of Finland.
      Jolma points out that should dispersants be used and if the oil was then driven into Finland's territorial waters, its mechanical collection would no longer be possible because of its altered chemical composition.
      Jolma affirms that the brush technique used in Finland enables the effective removal of vast quantities of oil.
     
Transporting of oil by sea through the Gulf of Finland has increased seven-fold in the past ten years, from 22 million tons in 1996 to the present 140 million tons per year.
      The risk of an accident is in direct correlation with the increase in transport volumes.
      Last year 151 marine accidents took place in the Baltic Sea, which is more than double compared with the beginning of 2000.
      According to the HELCOM Executive Secretary Anne Christine Brusendorff, the increased maritime traffic plays a role in the rise in accident figures.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finland soon to be able to fine ships for oil spills on high sea (2.2.2006)
  Finnish vessels fight spreading oil slick in icy Gulf of Finland (17.3.2006)
  Sharp increase in oil transport in Gulf of Finland (30.9.2004)
  WWF demands division of navigation lanes for entire Baltic Sea fairway (1.9.2004)

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