A decaying oil and gas pipeline left to collapse in the North Sea is releasing large amounts of toxins including mercury, radioactive lead and polonium-210, the substance infamous for its role in the poisoning of Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko. Scientists have warned that there is a possibility that
Mercury is a highly toxic element that occurs naturally in oil and gas. It sticks to the inside of pipelines, builds up over time, and is released into the ocean when the pipeline corrodes.
Some of the most toxic form of the metal, methylmercury, is released from pipelines, but other forms can also be converted to methylmercury. The International Minamata Convention on Mercury states that high levels of mercury in dolphins, whales and seals “can lead to reproductive failure, behavioral changes and even death.” Seabirds and large predatory fish such as tuna and marlin are also particularly at risk.
Liam Peyton, a researcher at the Institute of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Graz, who is sounding the alarm on mercury pollution, told the Guardian and Basin Research: “Even a small increase in mercury concentrations in the ocean will have a dramatic impact on the environment.'' I guess so.'' These are the animals at the top of the food chain. ”
There are about 27,000 km (16,800 miles) of gas pipelines in the North Sea, and scientists predict that the amount of metals in the sea could increase from 3% to up to 160% above existing levels. In some countries, such as Australia, companies are required to remove oil wells if they become inactive. But in the North Sea, companies are allowed to leave them to rot.
Peyton, whose paper is published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, said: “Abandoned pipelines on the ocean floor contain large amounts of water that, if left to corrode, are waiting to be released into the local marine environment. There is a possibility that mercury is retained.” After the abolition. Although there is currently no way to predict this impact, we do know that bioaccumulation of mercury within marine food webs is already dramatic and that increasing ocean mercury concentrations has only a downside. ”
The impact on wildlife and the food chain will depend on the form of mercury released from decaying pipelines, with some forms much less likely to be taken up by marine life than others. Australian Institute of Marine Science researcher Dr Darren Coppel said it was unlikely that all the mercury released from corroded pipelines would reach seawater. “Mercury is likely to partition between sediments, water, biota, and the atmosphere, further increasing the global mercury cycle.”
“We need to understand how mercury in pipelines needs to be cleaned up to avoid long-term impacts on the marine environment. “We need research to investigate the long-term fate of mercury left in the line and the circumstances in which it ends up in the food web,” Koppel said.
Mercury isn't the only substance worrying scientists. Dr Tom Cresswell from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Agency is also studying the effects of naturally occurring radioactive materials in some oil and gas reservoirs beneath the ocean floor. Natural radionuclides such as dissolved radium can be extracted with oil and gas fluids and can accumulate as scale within subsea pipelines.
“Radium physically decays to radioactive lead (210Pb) and polonium (210Po), which can be taken up by marine organisms and pose a radiological risk to these organisms,” Creswell said. and called for further research.
Hugo Tagholm, executive director of Oceana UK, described the issue as “another example of the extreme damage that oil and gas development causes to marine wildlife”. Mercury is a harmful toxin that accumulates in the brains of animals, causing damage to the entire nervous system and can lead to death. ”
In January, the North Sea Transition Authority announced that 24 new oil and gas licenses had been awarded to companies including Shell, Equinor, BP, Total and Neo in the latest licensing round.
The UK is a signatory to the Minamata Convention. The Minamata Convention is an agreement aimed at tackling mercury pollution, named after the Japanese city of Minamata, which experienced mercury poisoning from industrial wastewater. It contaminated seafood in the bay, killing many people who ate seafood caught in the area and seriously injuring others.
“It is difficult to predict what will happen if large amounts of mercury trapped in decommissioned pipelines are released into the environment, especially in the long term,” said Monika Stankiewicz of the Minamata Convention Secretariat. The North Sea's rich biodiversity and the millions of people who depend on it will be at increased risk.”
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Ricky Thomson, UK Offshore Energy's decommissioning manager, said the industry takes full responsibility for meeting its obligations under national and international regulations and that all decommissioning programs consider the environmental impact before operating. said.
“Throughout the decommissioning program, the operator will apply for a series of permits and consents from the marine environment regulator Opredo, which will require the operator to consider potential risks to the environment and appropriate mitigation measures.
“Under current regulations, where the infrastructure may not be completely removed, the final approach to decommissioning includes a comparative assessment process that considers environmental, social, safety, technical and economic factors. We need to ensure that decisions are made that balance all these aspects.”
Opred is part of the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). A ministry spokesperson said: “We do not accept the conclusions drawn from this report, which ignores the routine maintenance performed on all oil and gas pipelines.” Mercury and other harmful substances are kept to a minimum over the life of oil and gas pipelines because corrosion levels are regularly monitored by operators. ”
“Before decommissioning an oil or gas field, the contents of the pipeline are also flushed and filled with seawater to minimize contaminants.”
In response to DESNZ's statement, Mr Peyton said: “It is unreasonable to think that washing away with seawater will solve the problem.” If the water returns to the ocean, the risk of contamination will only increase. If all this water used to clean several kilometers of pipelines is somehow treated to remove mercury, there must be evidence that all the mercury has been removed from the pipeline walls. The need for transparency, collaboration and further research is clear. ”
Currently, approximately 1.3 million km of oil and gas pipelines are installed around the world.
