SOME PRELIMINARY-OBSERVATIONS AFTER THE WRECK OF THE OIL TANKER BRAERIN SHETLAND

A few days after the wrecking of the oil tanker Braer in January 1993, samples of seawater, soil and grass were collected from a variety of sites in Shetland. Analysis of these samples revealed that oil contami nation close to the wreck was extensive in both water and soil samples . There was also evidence of some trace contamination (< 1 ppm) in sam ples collected several km from the wreck. Preliminary results indicate d that the oil was biodegraded, i.e. through loss of most of the n-alk anes. However, comparison with a sample of crude oil similar to the Br aer cargo oil, suggests that the oil had already been biodegraded in-r eservoir. The indications are that there was little significant degrad ation of the involatile components of the oil between the time of the spill and sample collection. The nature of the spilled oil clearly has important consequences for the longer term studies of the persistence and environmental effects of the oil.