THE PROBLEM O F OIL POLLUTION O F THE SEA
263
0.20 p p m . benz(a)pyrene in barnacles on the coast of California ; an
extract injected into mice produced subcutaneous sarcomas. Plankton
contained up to 0.40 p.p.m. off French coasts but only 0.006 p.p.m. off
Greenland (Mallet and Sardou, 1964), suggesting that benz(a)pyrene
is created during industrial activities, and it is known that to obtain
it experimentally from naturally-occurring hydrocarbons they must be
heated to over 400°C. However, Shabad (1967) reported Russian work
on the accumulation of polycyclic carcinogens by micro-organisms and
Mallet et al. ( 1 967) have demonstrated that they can be synthesized by
marine bacteria from the lipids of plankton. Thus, although the major
source of carcinogenic hydrocarbons in the marine environment is the
relatively small amount of heated waste oils reaching the sea from
industry and shipping, it is at least possible that marine micro-organisms
could manufacture them from the crude or other oils which are or&sionally spilt in much larger quantities.
D. Rehabilitation of oiled birds
Most people show an understandable desire to help birds which
come ashore oiled, although from a coldly scientific point of view this
assistance is not necessary to maintain the numbers of such species as
the herring gull Larus argentatus Pont. or greater black-backed gull L.
marinus L. On the other hand (as shown above) a vigorous conservation
policy which includes the rehabilitation of oiled specimens will soon
become the only way to protect many auks, at least of the North
Atlantic region, from complete extinction. Existing methods of rehabilitation have little success. Of 5 71 1 oiled birds (mostly guillemots Uria
aalge) collected during the “ Torrey Canyon ” incident, about 150 were
returned to the sea and 25-30% of these are known to have died within
a month of release (Conder, in discussion following Clark’s 1968 paper ;
Clark, 1969). This suggests that a great deal of trouble and resources
were, in effect, being devoted to prolonging the suffering of over ninetenths of the stranded birds. Most ornithologists advise that quick
humane killing is at present the best treatment.
Beer (1968a, b) gave an account of the methods used on oiled auks
after the “ Torrey Canyon ” wreck; Clark (1968) and Clark and
Kennedy (1968) reviewed the wider problems of rehabilitation and
conservation. Because these birds rarely come ashore until very badly
affected, stranded auks will be starving, chilled, exhausted and with
secondary complications in addition to oiling even before they can be
collected. They must be prevented from preening or overcrowding
each other and kept as warm and clean as possible before treatment.
263
0.20 p p m . benz(a)pyrene in barnacles on the coast of California ; an
extract injected into mice produced subcutaneous sarcomas. Plankton
contained up to 0.40 p.p.m. off French coasts but only 0.006 p.p.m. off
Greenland (Mallet and Sardou, 1964), suggesting that benz(a)pyrene
is created during industrial activities, and it is known that to obtain
it experimentally from naturally-occurring hydrocarbons they must be
heated to over 400°C. However, Shabad (1967) reported Russian work
on the accumulation of polycyclic carcinogens by micro-organisms and
Mallet et al. ( 1 967) have demonstrated that they can be synthesized by
marine bacteria from the lipids of plankton. Thus, although the major
source of carcinogenic hydrocarbons in the marine environment is the
relatively small amount of heated waste oils reaching the sea from
industry and shipping, it is at least possible that marine micro-organisms
could manufacture them from the crude or other oils which are or&sionally spilt in much larger quantities.
D. Rehabilitation of oiled birds
Most people show an understandable desire to help birds which
come ashore oiled, although from a coldly scientific point of view this
assistance is not necessary to maintain the numbers of such species as
the herring gull Larus argentatus Pont. or greater black-backed gull L.
marinus L. On the other hand (as shown above) a vigorous conservation
policy which includes the rehabilitation of oiled specimens will soon
become the only way to protect many auks, at least of the North
Atlantic region, from complete extinction. Existing methods of rehabilitation have little success. Of 5 71 1 oiled birds (mostly guillemots Uria
aalge) collected during the “ Torrey Canyon ” incident, about 150 were
returned to the sea and 25-30% of these are known to have died within
a month of release (Conder, in discussion following Clark’s 1968 paper ;
Clark, 1969). This suggests that a great deal of trouble and resources
were, in effect, being devoted to prolonging the suffering of over ninetenths of the stranded birds. Most ornithologists advise that quick
humane killing is at present the best treatment.
Beer (1968a, b) gave an account of the methods used on oiled auks
after the “ Torrey Canyon ” wreck; Clark (1968) and Clark and
Kennedy (1968) reviewed the wider problems of rehabilitation and
conservation. Because these birds rarely come ashore until very badly
affected, stranded auks will be starving, chilled, exhausted and with
secondary complications in addition to oiling even before they can be
collected. They must be prevented from preening or overcrowding
each other and kept as warm and clean as possible before treatment.