A good solution for cleaning oil-spoiled waterfowl.
Photo: Juha Kääriä
The Finnish Environment Institute has acquired a machine that can be used in cleaning birds that have been spoiled with oil. The machine is the first one of its type in Finland as well as the entire Baltic Sea area. Nineteen such devices are in use around the world, the closest ones in the Netherlands and France. These were used, e.g., in cleaning birds after the tanker wreck off the coast of Wales, February 1996.
The machine gently cleans the oil spoiled bird in one minute using a detergent developed by the company Yves Rocher. The bird is put in a vertical position into the machine and only its head remains outside. For this reason, the head and respiratory ducts still need to be cleaned manually. The machine is suitable for cleaning e.g. following species: auks, guillemots and pochards. Bigger waterfowl like swans and geese still need to be cleaned manually.
The machine will be placed in a mobile container especially designed for the same. This first aid unit can then be quickly and easily taken to the site of an oil accident. For more information, please contact Mr Timo Asanti at the Finnish Environment Institute, fax: +358 9 40300791.
