Miljöfarliga transporter till sjöss
Kartläggning och riskanalys
An increasing number of chemicals are being transported by ships along the Swedish coastline. Many of these chemicals may pose a threat to the environment. Accidents and spills are luckily rare, but nonetheless it is important to be prepared for a possible chemical spill. The Swedish Coast Guard is responsible for responding to chemical spills at sea, and has both equipment and trained personnel for the purpose. In order to prepare for a possible accident one also needs to know what is currently being transported at sea. The aim of this project is therefore to survey the chemical transports in Swedish waters.The survey shows that many of the chemicals transported at sea are environmentally harmful and may harm the environment in the event of a spill. The number of accidents that occur is difficult to determine since not all of the smaller ones are reported. It is clear, however, that the main reasons for accidents are groundings and collisions. The collection of information about chemical transports has been difficult because many of the companies and ports are unwilling to give their information. This is part because of concurrence and part due to the fact that it is considered too much work to gather the data.The project also aims to make a risk analysis for chemical transports at sea. Because of the insufficient data the risk analysis has only dealt with qualitative assessments for certain chemicals. These assessments show that chemicals which are less environmentally harmful may still pose a threat because of the safety issues for the personnel may delay or even prevent a response action.International regulations for transports at sea can sometimes be complicated to apply because of the vast number of different chemicals. The classification process takes time because of the extensive research which is needed. Furthermore, many of the chemicals transported are classified in different systems and these do not always correspond. It is therefore difficult to conclude which chemicals that are actually a threat to the environment.