Glasgow And Ships Of The Clyde

Oil slick off Little Cumbrae was a false alarm

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 14th May 1971

OIL SLICK WAS FALSE ALARM

What had the appearance of a fairly large oil slick in the sea seven miles south west of Largs was reported by the pilot of an airliner coming in to land at Prestwick last Friday afternoon.

Fortunately it proved a false alarm - the slick was discovered to be a patch of scum which was fairly soon dispersed by the normal motion of the waves.

The Coastguard have had to investigate some half dozen similar reports in recent months, and they are of opinion that the scum patches may emanate from the dumping of sludge from Glasgow on the sea bed south of Garroch Head.
This practice has been carried on for many years without apparent detriment to the waters or seashore of the Firth of Clyde, but the recent alarms are obviously due to the growing public awareness of the increasing dangers of pollution generally, and the incidents of oil affecting beaches in the south of England which were widely publicised.

When the dumping of the Glasgow sludge was criticised in a national Sunday newspaper, West Kilbride District Council sought assurance from the responsible authorities that the practice did not lead to adverse effects upon marine life or pollution of beaches in the area, and as reported last week they were informed that no evidence has been found of any detrimental effect.