Environmental statement - Flyndre and Cawdor - Maersk Oil

Flyndre and Cawdor Environmental Statement
Section 6 Hydrocarbon Releases
Figure 6‐2 Probability of a diesel surface sheen with a thickness >0.04µm occurring following a total
loss of fuel from the NTvL.
The fate of the diesel is shown in Figure 6‐3. By day six the amount of diesel on the sea surface is
negligible with approximately 60% of the diesel having either evaporated or decayed. Components of
the diesel are predicted to persist at very low and non toxic concentrations with < 1% of the
discharged volume remaining in the water column by day 30. Around 15% of the diesel is predicted
to be deposited in the seabed sediments over a very wide area (≈ 50,600 km 2 ) at densities that are
not expected to cause a significant effect. Ultimately this diesel will biodegrade into harmless
components, in a timescale of 1‐2 years.
6 ‐ 6 D/4114/2011