TIP 12 — EFFECTS OF OIL POLLUTION ON SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

Another technical information paper released by the ITOPF organization. The content of this particular one is devoted to the effects that oil pollution may have on the economic and social activities. The economic sectors relying on clean sea water and coastal areas sometimes experience quite significant financial losses in connection with the costs that are incurred in cleaning up the spills.

And, maybe the most serious economic impacts are usually felt in such areas as tourism and fisheries, though many other sectors may be affected including shipping, desalination of the sea water, power plants etc. The present document considers some of the most important effects of spills on the coastal industries as well as social activities duly considering necessary measures to be implemented in order to reduce the impacts of the spills.

Taking into account the particular importance of the spills the authors of this series of technical papers have made a decision to present the relevant information in a separate paper covering tourism, recreational facilities and aquariums, vessel cleaning, marinas, fishing harbors, ports and shipyards, power plants and industrial water intakes, agriculture and salt production, coastal communities etc.