How many illegal dumping incidents take place each year around the world and in Europe and what is their volume?
Given that these dumping incidents are illegal, their total number and volume is not known for certain. Routine dumping from vessels represents almost 33% of the total hydrocarbons found in the sea; 10-12% come from accidents and the rest originates on land and is transported by the atmosphere, rivers or surface run-off on the coast, except for 5-6% which is of natural origin. In other words, more than 600,000 tonnes of annual spillages originate in this way. In Europe, some 3,000 illegal dumping incidents are detected each year, but it is believed that the real figure could be closer to 90,000 incidents.
