View report page

It may be considered unusual to introduce the subject of clean air into a paper on marine
pollution, nevertheless Section 16 of the 1956 Act is invoked from time to time in the Port of
London in the case of bonfires of driftwood and other heterogeneous material on the foreshores.
The recent exemption regulations have not been extended to cover incineration of this type of
waste although disposal is in fact controlled in the manner laid down in those regulations.
The disposal of household refuse has been referred to previously. The control of tipping
and carriage by water is constantly exercised in the Port of London and prosecutions are taken
from time to time under the Port Health Authority Bye laws. The Greater London Council collected
some 2,635,000 tons of refuse in the period 1969/70 of which 618,000 tons was carried on the
Thames by refuse barge (15). A spillage of one per cent into the River would result in 6,180 tons
of putrescible matter introduced into the River in the course of a year. This pollution is avoidable.
The January survey of houseboats showed 144 boats moored within the Port of London Health
Authority District. The Authority's byelaws prohibit the discharge of dust, ashes, rubbish, carrion,
fish or filth, offensive matter or liquid into the River. There were also eight floating restaurants
established within the District, the sewage from which is discharged to shore sewer.
SECTION VI - RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN POLLUTION CONTROL
It is of great interest to learn from the Water Pollution Research Laboratory Report, 1969,
that the largest individual project is research into the discharge of sewage to coastal waters.
A greater proportion of the laboratory's resources are devoted to it than for example, work on the
treatment and disposal of sludge, and some of the large sums of money now being spent in schemes
for long sea outfalls might be saved if the laboratory's research can be completed in time. The
present study includes research into the mortality of coliform bacteria to predict the effects of
varying outfall lengths. The report also says that heat treatment of sewage sludge is contemplated
or installed at 30 treatment plants.
The accidental spillage at road tanker coupling points in places using oil heating and the
discarding into sewers and drains of used oil and vehicle washings at large transport garages and
depots resulting in the oil pollution of watercourses, is now receiving attention by such bodies
as the oil industry and Associations of Mteropolitan Boroughs and the Greater London Council.
Their aim is the reduction and, if possible, elimination of this unnecessary type of pollution
by "good housekeeping" and development of a new type of interceptor to replace the current
petrol interceptor.
The first sludge disposal vessel built for private enterprise for the carriage and disposal at
sea of approved liquid wastes from local authorities and industry was commissioned in the Port
of London in March, 1971. The vessel is designed to operate in shallow waters and can load
when aground. It is capable of carrying some 1,500 tons of waste in four tanks and can discharge
to sea at a rate of 300 tons per minute. It is intended to dump the waste about 12 miles from the
Thames Estaury in the area of the Kentish Knock with the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food. Consultant chemists have been appointed in order to give adequate protection
to the marine environment. The vessel is fitted with the latest navigational aids to "fix" the
exact disposal point and it is part of centralised storage facilities for industries and organisations
inland without their own disposal facilities. The first disposal by the vessel in April provoked
a critical response from Norway.
As the new Bill before Parliament seeks to strengthen the enforcement of the Oil in Navigable
Waters Act, 1955, and to increase the fine on indictment to a maximum of £50,000 it is only to be
expected that new devices will be marketed to save ship masters from the results of accidental
or negligent spillage of oil andto offera defence of "best practicable means". One such device is
a shipboard "do it yourself anti-pollution kit" consisting of a sledge mounted water turbine pump
specially designed for use on board ships. A hose with a lance attachment can project a multipurpose
oil dispersant for use with all types of oil up to 100 feet. The dispersant, it is claimed,
is non-toxic to mammals. The dispersant disperses oil in water in the form of minute droplets
which remain dispersed and do not sink, thus causing secondary pollution problems. Meanwhile,
the Warren Spring Laboratory is testing the efficiency of an oil dispersing detergent for use by the
Department of Trade and Industry which could become the standard weapon against coastal oil
pollution. Another development is a mobile polyurethene filled net boom which is capable of
soaking up oil at a rate of 5V2 gallons of oil per cubic foot.
In oil tankers the introduction of sullage tanks and the "loading on top" system should
reduce the quantity of oil slicks discovered in coastal waters from time to time. The Royal Commission
estimates that three million tons of oil per year has been saved which would otherwise
have been discharged to sea.
Although the introduction of sewage disposal plants on board ship is not a recent development,
it would appear to be gaining momentum to the extent that all new larger transocean cargo and
passenger ships have had purpose made sewage storage and ejector systems or biological treatment
systems fitted during building, whilst some ships carry an assortment of ship to shore fittings