AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLAN FOR THE HUMBER ESTUARY, UNITED KINGDOM

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Humber is one of Britain's major estuaries, the water catchment area being some 20 percent of England, including a major proportion of British industrial activity. Despite this the Humber is not severely polluted, indeed large areas of the shoreline are designated sites of scientific interest while other areas are nature reserves. The extensive mudflats and salt marsh areas within the Humber estuary are of international importance for a number of bird species, particularly during the winter months. In addition there are areas of high amenity value. Two main oil terminals are operated within the estuary, the Tetney Monobuoy and the Immingham Oil Terminal. Both receive crude oil from tankers while the latter exports petroleum products. Both these sites are potential sources of oil spills, as was highlighted by the Sivand incident in September 1983. The paper identifies the sensitive areas of the Humber in terms of biological and amenity/commerical values, to produce an environmental contingency/oil spill response plan. The basis of the plan was to obtain samples for the assessment of sediment chemistry and biology if an incident occurred, prior to oil beaching, with a view to updating the present data base. The updated assessment can then be used to produce a detailed appraisal of any damage to the Humber environment. The paper includes an overview of the response plan structure.