Category:Hazards of substances released in the aquatic environment

When addressing the hazards of chemical spills at sea, a distinction is made between hazards to human beings and their property (see 5.1) and hazards to the marine environment (see 5.2), because the processes that lead to adverse effects are different.

With respect to the hazards of a chemical spills the term “toxicity” is often used. This will be describe in more detail what the term toxicity means and how it should be interpreted in the various situations (see 5.3).

Hazards to human beings are

• Toxicity by inhalation: Inhalation of toxic materials in the air can cause severe illness or death
• Explosiveness: Explosions can cause severe trauma because of the shock wave or resulting fire
• Flammability: A fire can cause skin burns to human beings and may even result in death
• Radioactivity: Contamination by a radioactive substance causes a person to be exposed to radiation, which in turn can cause several different adverse health effects
• Corrosiveness: Corrosive substances cause damage to living tissues. A corrosive gas can cause eye and skin irritation.
• Long term health effects: (such as carcinogenicity) This is a grouping of hazards that will result in adverse effects (long) after the exposure.

Hazards to the marine environment are:

• Aquatic toxicity: A substance with a high aquatic toxicity has a large potential to kill marine organism
• Bioaccumulation: Bio accumulation is the tendency of a substance to be stored in the fat of organisms
• Persistence: A persistent substance will not (or very slowly) be degraded by natural processes
• Radioactivity: Contamination by a radioactive substance causes a person to be exposed to radiation, which in turn can cause several different adverse health effects
• Corrosiveness: Corrosive substances cause damage to living tissues. A corrosive gas can cause eye and skin irritation
• Long term health effects: (such as carcinogenicity) This is a grouping of hazards that will result in adverse effects (long) after the exposure.

In the final paragraph of this chapter, a method for hazard assessment is given.

This method can be used to identify individual hazards. It is also possible to score an accident based on the hazards presented. This score makes it possible to compare accidents with each other.