Between 29 January and 6 February 2013, more than 500 seabirds were killed or injured by a mysterious substance from a pollution event off the southern coast of England. Perhaps the most worrying aspect of this incident is that these deaths and injuries may have resulted from completely legal shipping activity rather than anything that is banned.
The substance that caused all the trouble was later revealed to be the man-made synthetic polymer known as polyisobutene. The same substance is known have caused thousands of seabird deaths in incidents in the Irish and North Seas.
We have seen some strong moves forward in the law in recent times, such as the fact that it is illegal to release mineral oil directly into the seas. However, it is still perfectly legal to discharge hazardous and caustic chemicals like this one into the ocean when washing out cargo tanks.
This is very worrying as it has clearly been shown to be extremely detrimental to wildlife such as guillemots and razorbills, which made up the majority of the seabirds affected in this case. It cannot be allowed to continue to be legal to spill these dangerous chemicals because they can cause just as many problems as oil can.
It needs to be made illegal for any substances such as this one to be simply let go into the ocean purely for the benefit of cargo ships. The damage it does to the environment far outweighs the small benefit for the companies involved.