Risk assessment for marine spills along European coastlines

- A metric is proposed to measure and compare the relative risk from marine-spills.
- A marine-spill risk index is constructed for coastal regions in European waters.
- Results show substantially higher risks among European Atlantic coastal regions.
- UK coasts are more at risk from marine spills than other European territories.
- Sea currents appear to have positive dispersal effects leading to smaller risks.

A marine-spill risk index is proposed to measure and compare the relative vulnerability of coastal regions to marine spills in European waters. It is applied to 301 spills in European waters between 1970 and 2014 for 429 Eurostat territorial units and 156 regions in Europe's coasts. The results show a high heterogeneity among European coastal regions with areas, predominantly on the Atlantic coast, with high marine-spill risks. In particular, UK coasts are markedly affected as there are only five non-British coastal territories within the first 25 territorial units most at risk from marine spills. Across countries, European Atlantic countries face highest risks versus coastal countries on other European waters that are relatively safer. The index also shows a tendency of sea currents to have positive dispersal effects leading to smaller risks rather than otherwise. The index may help to design protection policies and reduce the vulnerability of sensitive resources.