• Scale of destruction “difficult to comprehend”
• Public contacting wildlife charities “in droves”
• Call for people to make their voices heard
A week after the first reports of birds covered in a sticky glue like
substance being washed up on southwest beaches, wildlife charities have today
confirmed that the number of dead has passed 1000. This is in addition to the
200+ birds in the care of RSPCA and South Devon Seabird Trust.
The substance has been identified as polyisobutene (PIB) by
researchers at Plymouth University. It is the second time in just three months
that PIB has killed hundreds of seabirds in the South
West.
In this latest incident birds have been found in a wide area from
Dodman Point, Cornwall to the Teign Estuary, Devon but the worst hit areas have
been beaches along Whitsand Bay in south east Cornwall where locals have been
counting hundreds of birds every day.
Alison Fogg, zoologist and environment campaigner who lives by the
sea near Lanteglos in Cornwall has been close to the unfolding disaster; “It is
hard to sum up so many different emotions, from the last few days, in a few
words ...
“Seeing over 157 dead birds on Lansallos beach, followed by hundreds
more at Lantic Bay, was quite devastating. Lansallos is a small sheltered beach
on the South Coast of Cornwall. A haven for nature and totally unspoilt, this
beach is popular with holiday makers, walkers and locals for swimming and
relaxation.
“The scale of destruction to wildlife, in the beginning of the bird
breeding season and at the start of the tourist season is quite difficult to
comprehend.”
It is not known whether the substance got into the sea as a spill
from a ship or as part of legal and routine tank washing
operations.
Tony Whitehead from RSPB said; “The devastation this substance has
caused has been appalling. To see the images of beaches strewn with bodies is a
sobering reminder that we just cannot go on treating our precious marine
environment as a dustbin.
“If this was an illegal spill, we need to support the Maritime and
Coastguard Agency in tracking down the ship responsible. Although this will be
difficult, surely it’s not impossible.
“If this was the result of legal tank washing operations, we need to
urge the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to tighten up the rules and
make it illegal to wash this stuff into the sea. It’s a noxious substance and
we don’t want it in our marine environment.”
Abby Crosby, Marine Conservation officer for Cornwall Wildlife Trust;
said; “The public have been calling our Hotline in droves and our brilliant
strandings volunteers have been sending in their reports but, as dead birds may
continue to wash up, we need to keep on recording.”
Harry Barton, Chief Executive of Devon Wildlife Trust said; "This is
an absolute tragedy for wildlife, but it is bad for all of us too. Our region
is famous for its stunning natural environment and clean beaches, and that is
why we have such a successful tourist industry. The prospect of wading through
piles of dead birds on the shore is hardly the advertisement we want. This is
the clearest possible sign that our economy depends on a healthy natural
environment. Pollution incidents like this can be prevented if the political
will is there to do so. We must act quickly and decisively to stop this
happening a third time."
Marc Smith, Chesil Centre Officer at Dorset Wildlife Trust and one of
the first on the scene at the similar incident in February this year on Dorset’s
beaches, said: “It was heart-breaking the first time around, seeing hundreds of
birds washing up dead or helpless along our shore. Knowing this was preventable
made the whole thing really stick in your throat. Now it is happening again only
two months down the line. We need to stop the discharge of PIB into our seas.
It’s as simple as that.”
The Wildlife Trusts, RSPCA and RSPB have this week written to
shipping minister Stephen Hammond calling on Government to urgently raise the
issue of PIB in the marine environment with the IMO and call on them to urgently
review the hazard classification of PIB, and implement regulations that prevent
its discharge into the sea.
Tony Whitehead from RSPB added; “People care about marine wildlife.
We’ve had hundreds of messages expressing concern via Facebook and Twitter. And
a number of MPs in constituencies touched by this disaster have called for
action. We need everyone who is appalled by this to make their voice
heard.”
Members of the public wishing to add their voice to calls for the
discharge of PIB into the sea to be banned can sign the 38 Degrees petition or
the Avaaz petition and contact their own MP and ask them to raise the issue with
the minister responsible.
ends
For More Information, Images and interviews please contact:
Tony Whitehead, RSPB South West Press Officer 01392 453754, 07872
414365
Steve Hussey, Devon Wildlife Trust, 01392 279244, shussey@devonwildlifetrust.org,
Notes
What is PIB?
Polyisobutene (PIB), also known as polyisobutylene or butyl rubber,
is a non-toxic and non- aggressive substance, used for example to manufacture
chewing gum, adhesive tape and sealants. It is also very sticky - PIB is what
makes cling-film stick to whatever it touches. In shipping, it is often used as
a thickening agent for industrial lubricant oils.
PIB was first developed in the 1940s as a synthetic alternative to
natural rubber which was in short supply due to conflicts in rubber-producing
regions. As a substance, it is generally colourless or light yellow, odourless,
tasteless and cannot easily be identified. One of its special properties is that
it is the only form of rubber that is completely impermeable to gas as well as
water.
PIB, along with other non-petroleum products, is transported around
the world on a regular and increasing basis. The global consumption of PIB was
over 850,000 tonnes in 2011, with the USA as the leading producer, but Belgium
and France together produce almost a fifth of the PIB market. The UK is also a
major importer. As a consequence, there is considerable transport of PIB around
the UK and Western Europe. Global consumption is forecast to increase by around
40% by 2017 to 1.2 million tonnes per year.
What are the impacts of PIB on seabirds and marine
wildlife?
PIB usually enters the water through ships ‘flushing’, or washing,
their tanks and clearing ballast water. PIB is a hydrophobic substance though,
so on contact with water it coalesces into a waxy, glue-like formation,
generally floating at or just underneath the surface. As such it is extremely
hazardous to a range of seabird species, which dive to find food. These birds
become covered in the substance, which sticks their wings to their bodies and
prevents them from feeding, causing immobilisation, hypothermia, starvation and
eventually death. There is also a risk of ingestion of bits of PIB in its waxy
form.
The effect of PIB on seabirds is graphically illustrated in this
video: http://youtu.be/10FLdTkj8Os (Note: This is
from the first incident in Dorset. This bird was on an isolated beach at the
bottom of a steep cliff and could not be reached by rescuers; it was filmed from
the top of the cliff).
PIB is defined as a `persistent floater’. It is also very slow to
degrade (and is not biodegradable), so there are likely to be delayed and less
visible wider impacts on marine ecosystems for a long time after any initial
spillage. These effects are not however currently studied.
Previous PIB incidents
It appears there have been at least three previous documented
incidents involving spillage of PIB in European Waters.
Irish Sea 1994 The washing of tanks by a chemical tanker after carrying 2100 tonnes
of lubricating oil additives (i.e. PIB) in the Irish Sea at the end of December
1993 is thought to have directly led to hundreds of seabird deaths in early
January 1994. The actions of the ship cleaning its tanks were in full accordance
with International Maritime Organization (IMO)
regulations.
North Sea 1998 Hundreds of birds were washed ashore alive in Zeeland (SW
Netherlands) in December 1998, covered in a whitish, sticky substance, and
transported to a rehabilitation centre. Dead birds were recorded over the next
10 days across a wide area of the mainland coast and as far north as the
Waddensee islands of Texel. At least 1,100 seabirds are thought to have been
affected by this substance, soon identified as
polyisobutene.
North Sea 2010 “Several dozen” dead birds and some live casualties, mainly
guillemots, were recorded between the mainland coast of North Netherlands and
the westernmost islands of Texel and Vlieland, in March 2010. These birds were
covered in a “thick layer of glue-like material”, which was chemically analysed
as most likely PIB.
What are wildlife charities calling for?
Wildlife charities believe that the risk of PIB to the marine
environment is seriously underestimated under current regulations. As such, they
are urging the Government to call on the International Maritime Organisation
(IMO) to urgently review the hazard classification of PIB, and implement
regulations that prevent any further tragic and wholly avoidable incidents like
the one just witnessed. This requires one or more member countries of the IMO to
raise the issue in the formal IMO channels.
Under the terms of the MARPOL Convention, this would require as a
first step the reclassification of PIB from category Y to category X, covering
“Noxious Liquid Substances which, if discharged into the sea from tank cleaning
or deballasting operations, are deemed to present a major hazard to either
marine resources or human health and, therefore, justify the prohibition of the
discharge into the marine environment”.
This action is one of five proposed by RSPB to lessen the risks that
discharges from shipping pose:
1. An urgent review of the hazard classification of PIB and other
legally dischargeable substances, in relation to their impacts on the marine
environment (including seabirds).
2. The testing of Annex II substances for their effects in more
realistic marine conditions, which takes into account the effects of changes in
consistency, time to degrade, toxicity if ingested and in-combination effects
when mixed with other substances.
3. The establishment of a formal monitoring protocol and collated
central database for recording pollution incidents involving Annex II
substances.
4. Commitment to further scientific research on the effects of
contaminating noxious substances on wider aspects of marine ecosystems, in
addition to charismatic megafauna such as seabirds.
5. The strictest possible enforcement and prosecution of illegal
discharges of any polluting substance at sea.
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