Word: spill
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Since the concentrations of oil off the Shetlands are now low, seabirds are less likely to take on a fatal coat of crude than their counterparts in other spills. That is small comfort for the more than 700 birds that died in the early stages of the spill, or to the thousands more that may become sick from ingesting oil while preening or feeding on contaminated food. But the spill seems to have affected fewer birds than expected...
...vigorous wave action worked as a high-energy cleanser of rocks and beaches. Thus the Shetlands are likely to be spared the costly and environmentally disruptive cleanup that followed the spilling of nearly 11 million gal. of crude (less than half the amount lost by the Braer) into Prince William Sound in Alaska. Says Robert Spies, chief scientist for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council: "There is ample evidence that overzealous cleanup can be harmful." The chemical detergents, high-pressure sprays and brushes used to clean beaches and rocks after a spill destroy microorganisms that are an important part...
Does all this mean that the scientists, conservationists and cleanup crews can pack their bags and go home? Hardly. Conservation groups such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund have been using the spill in the Shetlands as a bully pulpit to raise public awareness of the very real danger of the world's overreliance on oil. And, of course, a dramatic event in which animals are threatened makes fund raising easier. Greenpeace ads featuring oil-coated birds and soliciting donations appeared in British papers four days after the accident...
Though the spill was not so awful as had been feared, it did create a costly scare. Nearly 400 sq. mi. of fishing grounds, including 11 of the Shetlands' 61 salmon farms, have been closed until both the water and the fish can be tested for oil contamination. "We think things look good now," says Alistair Goodlad, co-owner of Bressay Salmon Co. "But we can't take a chance. We will voluntarily stay closed until we know things are safe." Experts are also testing sheep to discover the effect of their grazing on oil-tainted pastures...
...ironies of the Persian Gulf spill, which some experts predicted would destroy the area's ecosystem, is that certain parts seem cleaner and healthier now than they were before the Iraqis dumped their crude. According to a study published last August in the journal Nature, the levels of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments and some mollusks from Bahrain in June 1991 were lower than those recorded in prewar surveys. Scientists suspect that the reason for this startling finding is that during and after the war, tanker traffic in the gulf was cut back. "Normal" oil pollution, largely from tankers clearing their...