Tar pollution of Sierra Leone beaches

Abstract

THE widespread occurrence of pelagic tar and plastic wastes in parts of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans has been described previously1. Extensive and considerable fouling of the sandy beaches of Sierra Leone by tar lumps has now been observed at Lumley, Sussex, No. 2, Toke and Mamah villages (Fig. 1) during the past 14 months (June, 1973 to July, 1974). Large quantities of soft, brownish-black lumps (up to 7–8 cm diameter) have been repeatedly washed ashore along the entire stretch (about 6 km) of Lumley beach. This reaches a maximum during June to August, probably because of onshore south-western Monsoonal winds and the increased eastward flow of the Guinea Current during May to October2. On August 4, 1974, tar lumps were also observed 1–2 km up the No. 2 River estuary; and during Easter, 1974, a 4–5 km stretch of the sandy beach at Shenge village (7° 56′N 12° 56′W) at the southern tip of Yawri Bay, was also littered with the pollutant. Observations have not been made south of Shenge and north of Freetown (8° 29′N 13° 4′W) but the extent of current pollution tends to suggest that the whole Sierra Leone coastline, and perhaps those of the flanking countries as well, may be subject to frequent tar pollution, probably originating from the heavy, offshore traffic of tankers and ships.