North Ayrshire train derailment pollution

As a result of the train derailment near Stewarton at the end of January, over one hundred and fifty thousand litres of aviation and road fuels are understood to have escaped into the environment, polluting soil and watercourses.
Ayrshire Rivers Trust staff attended the Annick Water and the Garrier Burn after receiving a spate of telephone calls from concerned anglers and members of the public. The Annick Water appears to have escaped largely unaffected however the Lochridge Burn and the Garrier Burn both have suffered terribly with what is expected to be a total loss of all fish and invertebrate populations. These burns  flow into the River Irvine via the Carmel Water and the impact on these two rivers has yet to be fully assessed.  In all, around 22 kilometres of watercourse are likely to be affected.
Aviation kerosene is particularly harmful to the aquatic environment. Following investigations, Trust biologists discovered many dead fish throughout the affected burns. Seven different fish species were recorded including salmon, brown trout, minnow, stickleback, gudgeon, stone loach and eel. Millions of invertebrates, the staple food for fish, birds and amphibians have been completely destroyed. Even pollution resistant species such as leaches have been lost. The effect on salmon and trout spawning sites is unclear which is extremely worrying as salmon and trout eggs should be hatching soon. Reduced oxygen levels will lower egg survival rates and for those that do hatch, lack of invertebrates will lead to further losses. At least three generations of trout and salmon are likely to have been lost.

Other species likely to be most affected are otter and water vole, both of which are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and are thought to  be present in these burns. Water Voles are Britain’s most endangered mammal. Ayrshire Rivers Trust are currently researching the distribution of these animals in Ayrshire and anyone with information regarding water voles is asked to contact them. Bird life was noticeable by its absence during the surveys. Encouragingly, Trust Biologists found no dead mammals or water birds although downstream at Irvine Harbour there appears to be a number of casualties.
Environmental emergency response teams are actively removing fuel oils from the affected burns. It is unclear how the oil can be removed from the soil around the crash site but in situ bio remediation techniques are likely to be the only option. Undoubtedly, the cleaning up process will take an extended period of time with full recovery taking years rather than months.