Following a brief statement on the movement of oil produced by wind, current and natural spreading, the problem of removing, containing and dispersing oil on the surface of the water will be discussed. Reference will be made to the successful developments in these methods made by the United Kingdom. Methods which should be adopted to prevent and minimise oil spills both at sea and on land will be discussed. The effects of oil pollution on all aspects of commercial fishery including the fields of dispersant toxicity, tainting of fish and shell-fish and the fouling of fishing gear will be discussed together with some observations on the ultimate fate of oil spilt upon the sea's surface and sunk into its depths.
Comme suite à un bref enoncé au sujet du mouvement de l'huile sur la mer produit par le vent, les courants d'aux et par la tendance naturelle du pétrole à se répondre, on va considérer les moyens disponibles pour éloigner, contenir ou disperser les nappes d'huile flottantes sur l'eau.
On examinera ensuite des techniques développée avec grand succes en Grande Bretagne ainsi que les méthodes à adopter pour prévenir on du moins réduire la propagation de cette nappe d'huile sur la mer et d'empêcher si possible pour qu' elle ne se repond sur la côte.
On discutera aussi I'effect nocif de cette pollution sur l'industrie de la pêche en envisageant le danger de l'emploi d'agents toxiques de dispersion surtout pour les plantes marines, les poissons et les crustacés.
La question de la souillure des attirails pêche, de la détérioration de goût du poisson et de crustacés resultant de cette pollution, ainsi que le sort de l'huile coulée an fond de la mer seront examinés. 1. OIL DISPOSAL-GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS Movement of oil on the water In general terms, when oil is spilt onto water it spreads, the rate of spreading depending on the surface tensions of the water and of the oil. If the water surface is clean and the oil is a chemically pure substance it is possible to calculate the rate of spreading. In practice the spreading is aided by the surface active agents which many oils contain. It is much more difficult to decide the rate of spreading and the final size of the slick when oil is spilt on the surface of the sea which may not be clean. Blokkerl has by J. WARDLEY SMITH, Ministry of Technology, Warren Spring Laboratory, Stevenage, England and R. G. J. SHELTON, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Fisheries Laboratory, Burnham on Crouch, England carried out work on the spreading of oils in practical cases and as a first approximation his values are reasonably satisfactory.
It has been realised that the rate of spreading of oil appears to depend upon the quantity spilt and yet some of the major spills have not spread at the calculated rate, although at a first approximation the spreading of
