BfR-Wissenschaft 
17 
sant formulations have been developed for either marine waters or inland waters (rivers, 
lakes). 
Furthermore, it could be worthwhile studying the impact of salinity on the efficacy of marine 
dispersants for a potential use in low salinity regions such as the Arctic or the Baltic Sea as 
the risks of oil spills may increase with increasing maritime traffic or more oil platforms in 
these regions. 
Stability of dispersants 
Dispersants are complex mixtures of dissolved surfactants and solvents, originating from 
specific oil fractions. Hence, the stability of these mixtures over time and more importantly 
the stability of their efficacy have to be assessed. For this purpose, the French Navy assess 
es the quality of its dispersants stockpiles regularly. 
On a European scale, the question arises as to how different countries can share their stock 
piles in order to optimise their use in a similar way to what is done on the global scale by Oil 
Spill Response Limited (OSRL). 
Table 4.2: List of stocked quantities of dispersants in the world by the Subsea Well Intervention Service 
(O’Driscoll, 2013). 
Type 
Quantity 
(m3) 
Location 
Dasic Slickgone NS 
500 
OSRL Base UK Southampton 
Finasol 52 
500 
OSRL Base UK Southampton 
Finasol 52 
1000 
OSRL Base Singapore 
Finasol 52 
1500 
Supplier Warehouse - Europe 
Finasol 52 
500 
OSRL Base South Africa 
Corexlt EC9500A 
500 
Florida / Texas USA 
Corexlt EC9500A 
500 
Brazil 
With respect to research, it would be interesting to monitor the stability of dispersant formula 
tions under different storage conditions, notably in polar conditions if stockpiles are built up in 
this region. 
Dispersant efficacy with respect to oil types 
Oil weathering processes 
When released into the marine environment, the chemical nature of the oil will evolve due to 
different physico-chemical processes, which take place simultaneously. The main processes 
involved are dissolution and evaporation of light molecules, emulsification due to surface 
movement and photo-oxidation. The combination of all these phenomena is commonly 
named oil weathering.