BfR-Wissenschaft 
61 
10 Dispersants: Operational experience and sea trials in the UK 
Kevin Colcomb 
Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), Southampton, UK 
Dispersant use as a response to maritime oil pollution in the UK 
The UK response to oil spills is based on a basket of options, dispersant use is but one of 
those options and in many cases carried out in parallel with other techniques such as at-sea 
recovery. Decisions taken are based on a wide range of parameters such as the oil type, is 
the oil amenable? What is the spill threatening in terms of economy, environment, amenity 
etc? Is the spill in shallow water and thereby oil dispersion likely to make matters worse? 
Each incident is assessed on its own merits through a well-established protocol by MCA and 
the range of UK stakeholders routinely involved in oil spill response. Typically the main play 
ers are MCA, the appropriate Environmental Regulator, Statutory Nature Conservation Body, 
Fisheries Department and Local Authorities. 
Dispersants remain a primary United Kingdom response to oil spilled in the marine environ 
ment. However, legislation prohibits the use in UK waters of oil treatment substances unless 
approved by an appropriate regulatory and licensing authority. 
The licensing process for dispersant use is exclusively determined by the individual respon 
sible authorities: Marine Management Organisation (MMO) for England, Natural Resources 
Wales for Wales (NRW), Marine Scotland (MS) for Scotland and Northern Ireland Environ 
ment Agency (NIEA) for Northern Ireland. The rationale for an ongoing dispersant campaign 
during incident response will be influenced by those bodies plus input from the UK Environ 
ment Groups (EG’s). 
Dispersants: A summary of the UK Regulations 
• Regulations are not advisory, it is an offence to not comply 
• Illegal to use unlicensed products 
• Illegal to spray knowing operations are ineffective 
• Illegal to spray in shallow water without dispensation 
• Best efforts must be made to hit dispersible oil 
• Best efforts must be made to confirm dispersion is real 
The regulations exist to promote best practise and protect the environment. After formal ap 
proval has been given for an operational dispersant campaign to commence the UK regula 
tors will typically closely monitor ongoing dispersant operations as some factors may well 
change over time.