Port of Söderhamn

Background

On 20th December 2011, a leak of crude tall oil (CTO) was discovered in an Arizona Chemical tank in the Longrör storage depot, in the Swedish port of Söderhamn. CTO is a by-product of the kraft process of wood pulp manufacture. Like mineral oil, it is a complex mixture. During this incident, approximately 800 m³ of CTO was spilled, contaminating the ground and port waters.

Spill response

Within 40 minutes of discovering the leak, containment operations were implemented with the construction of a sank embankment. The contents of the tank, 9,000 m3 before the leak occurred, were then pumped out to put an end to the leak.

The oil affected the mainland as well as many small islands in Söderhamn Bay, featuring rocky beaches, large rocks, very small pebbles and jetties, making clean-up difficult and time-consuming.
Clean-up operations were carried out jointly by the Swedish Coast Guard, the local emergency services, the municipality, as well as Arizona Chemical personnel.
The company announced that the day after the incident 130 m3 of CTO had been recovered, then 370 m3 two weeks later. The company did not however provide any details of the recovery operations.

The Swedish Coast Guard also conducted overflights to determine the extent and drift of the spill. Coastguard vessels reportedly recovered approximately 300 m3 of CTO from the sea surface. The remaining 500 m3 drifted around the beaches in the archipelago. Many young jobseekers in the region were hired to conduct clean-up operations.
According to its safety data sheet, the CTO should have been readily biodegradable. However, where the CTO had not been exposed to weather conditions (sun and wind; inside stone jetties, under rocks, etc.), it remained almost intact. A major long-term remediation effort was implemented in Söderhamn.

Little impact on the bird population was reported, as most birds had migrated for the winter. Only 15 to 20 dead birds were found in the region.

In 2015, new instances of the pollution emerged and were cleaned up by the Söderhamn municipal services.

In accordance with the polluter pays principle, Arizona Chemical covered the clean-up costs.

Arizona Chemical was acquitted in October 2014 by the Hudiksvall District Court in relation to the spill of 800 m³ of CTO into the Söderhamn archipelago in 2011, despite serious consequences for the environment and local residents. The court found that there was no evidence to suggest that the company had acted negligently, considering rather that it was an accident for which no criminal liability could be claimed, especially since Arizona Chemical had limited the spill by constructing an embankment.
In January 2015, the Court of Appeal decided to examine the question of environmental crime.