Mystery spill of Polyisobutylene (C4H8)n off the Dutch coast affecting seabirds in March 2010

Abstract

Levels of chronic oil pollution in the marine environment are declining worldwide and certainly so in the southern North Sea (Anon. 1992, 1993; Camphuysen 1998, 2010). This is most likely the result of a combination of factors, including intensified and more effective aerial surveillance (remote sensing), legislation, human attitude, and enhanced possibilities to discharge unwanted substances in oil reception facilities in harbours. Beached bird surveys have documented this decline in considerable detail (Camphuysen 2010).