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Feature

"A Disaster Waiting To Happen..."

New Zealand's relative lack of preparedness with regard to coping with a major oil spill is "a disaster waiting to happen", according to the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.

The independent advisory office and its commissioner, Helen Hughes, have been highly critical of the "inadequate legislative framework which did and still does exist and the absence of a formal structure for oil pollution preparedness and response".

The issue was closely examined in a 1991 report, gaining further urgency following the November 1992 fire on board the Australian Achiever oil tanker while in New Zealand waters. The tanker carried 38,000 tonnes of crude oil on board, which is considerably more than the maximum 1,500 tonne spill limit with which New Zealand can cope.

"The incident had the potential to be an environmental disaster and would have been an unfortunate way to discover limitations in the current response procedures," says Bob McClymont, director of the Office.

The Commissioner has warned that a very real risk of a major oil spill exists, primarily from oil tankers. Hughes says that the stockpile of clean-up equipment -- presently maintained in Auckland -- is inadequate, particularly given that some tankers in our waters can carry up to 160,000 tonnes of oil.

The Minister of Transport has appointed a committee to look at the country's oil-spill response strategy, with a focus on regional responses to local problems supplemented by national backup.

The oil spill contingency plans drawn up by regional councils and harbour boards based on national plan recommendations tend towards the small scale. The Tauranga Harbour Oil Pollution Response Plan provides for dealing with a target spillage of 15 tonnes, noting that local resources are adequate for dealing with spills of up to five tonnes.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council's plan recommends containment techniques using booms to trap and guide surface slicks. It recognises that the harbour's depth is not sufficient for efficient use of dispersants, and says that these should be used only as a last resort.

"It may be necessary to use dispersant when the alternative would be unacceptable contamination of a sensitive shoreline," the plan notes. The plan also identifies shorelines with high priority for protection, including amenity areas and areas that are ecologically sensitive.

Taranaki Regional Council's plan allows for the use of dispersants in their waters, except in the Sugar Loaf Marine Park. The plan points out that deployment of ocean booms would be limited because of the relative exposure of the harbour area to winds and notes that there may be insufficient containment equipment to defend beaches and the marine park area. Under such circumstances, the council recognises that shoreline cleanup may be a necessary option, but is aware that such cleanup techniques are labour intensive.

"The major option is therefore the use of dispersants, and every effort should be made to facilitate their use in the event of a spill," the plan says. It adds that dispersants need to be used in the first 6-12 hours following a spill, noting that usage consents should be granted as soon as possible after a spill is notified.

Small-scale oil spills and oil control are benefiting from the use of the New Zealand-developed sorbent "Woolspill". The wool-based product can absorb up to 40 times its weight in oil, and the oil so absorbed can be recovered for recycling. Woolspill gained attention during the Gulf War, when wool booms were suggested as offering a damage-free way of mopping up the oil released. Emergency stocks of Woolspill booms are now maintained by a number of organisations, including the Wellington Harbour Board and the Christchurch Regional Council.

Helen Hughes says that New Zealand has been lucky in that it has not had to deal with a major spill in the marine environment. Whether that luck continues to hold -- and whether we have appropriate strategies in place to deal with such an event -- remains to be seen.

Vicki Hyde is the editor of New Zealand Science Monthly.