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Mass Releases Mass Helium Balloon Releases in NSW Opposition to the mass release of balloons stems from a desire by people to
protect the environment. However, their cause has grown from ignorance.
Rumour has become accepted as fact and scientific evidence is ignored or
distorted. This has resulted in the perpetuation of misinformation.
Wildlife groups including Australian Seabird Rescue and ORRCA have claimed
that by banning the mass release of balloons, thousands of marine creatures
could be saved. A prominent spokesman for Ballina Seabird Rescue has
publicly stated that balloons land in the ocean and because they look like
seaweed or jellyfish, dolphins, whales and turtles eat them, thinking they
are food.
Bethany
Henderson, who has campaigned to have mass balloon releases banned, says she
began her battle after she saw a pelican that had choked to death on a plastic bag. She took her cause to the Premier - with strong supportive
media coverage - and the Premier appeared to accept Bethany's claims as
fact.
In his
news release of August 19, 2000, Premier Carr stated "helium balloons,
along with plastics in the water, pose one of the greatest threat to
marine life" and "the mass release of balloons, which in effect is
the mass dumping of plastic into the ocean." He also stated "I
even heard a recent story where a dead shearwater - a coastal bird - was
found on the SW coast with fragmented balloons wrapped around its legs."
Premier
Carr joined others in repeating an unsubstantiated story that blamed
mass-release balloons for a bird's death. He joined the vast majority of
other people in mistakenly describing biodegradable latex balloons as
plastic.
Those
who blame balloons for the death are well meaning, but their claims are
neither researched nor accurate. Worse, by disseminating inaccurate and
misleading information about balloons, they are deflecting the attention of
politicians, community influencers and the public, from the real and serious
problem of ocean pollution from other sources.
The
Facts
· The major causes of beach and
marine pollution are people, shipping, fishing and sewage outfalls.
· The biggest components of the
plastic litter stream in NSW are confectionery wrappers (8.7%), straws
(8.4%), plastic bags (5.2%) and PET bottles (3%).
· At no time has Keep Australia
Beautiful received public demand or comment with regards to potential
balloon litter pollution.
· Mass release balloons rise to
25,000 feet where they burst and fall to earth in small fragments which
biodegrade at the same rate as many leaves.
· In an average release of 500
balloons the density of balloons landing intact would be no greater than one
per 40 square kilometres (approx). Scientific evidence states this would
make it impossible for sea creatures to forage enough balloon waste to cause
any harm.
· Surveys of fishermen in New
South Wales have shown no balloon parts in gutted fish nor have the
fishermen seen sea turtles, whales, sunfish or dolphins in distress because
of balloons.
· Environmental agencies in the
Pacific Rim have stated there has been no balloon debris found in their
regions at any time following mass releases in Sydney, despite wind drift
expected to carry balloons to those north eastern regions off Australia.
· Only latex balloons made from
100% organic material and totally biodegradable are used in mass releases.
· Professionals involved in
mass balloon releases do not use Mylar (silver foil) balloons, nor do they
attach string, ribbon, cord or anything else to rubber balloons. Balloons
which are found in the environment have almost certainly come from another
source - such as a balloon accidentally or deliberately released by a child.
Opponents of balloon
mass releases claim that some animals mistake latex balloons for jellyfish
and eat them and die. These claims can be traced back to two incidents that
took place in New Jersey, in the United States.
The
first incident occurred in 1985, when a five-metre whale was discovered
stranded on the coast. It was severely hurt as it flailed against the pier
and eventually died. Although the cause of death was never determined, a
balloon was blamed since a post-mortem revealed a deflated silver balloon
with a metre of ribbon attached to the animal's digestive tract. As stated,
silver balloons are not used in mass releases.
In the
second incident in 1987 a badly decomposed leatherback turtle was found.
Despite a metre long cut caused by a boat propeller (a common cause of
turtle mortality), the neck of a latex balloon with a metre of blue ribbon
attached was found in the animal's intestines. As stated, ribbons are not
tied to balloons used in mass releases.
Scientific facts
· The University of Texas Marine Science
Institute produced turtle mortality research in which balloon pieces were
found in about six per cent of the animals examined, however its Chief
Researcher has unequivocally stated that balloons were not the cause of the
turtle deaths.
· The US National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's Marine Fisheries Service is often cited by
balloon release opponents to support its cause, however, that body has never
claimed a balloon caused the death of any sea animal.
· A study by wildlife
researcher Cathy Beck which was published in "The Marine Pollution Bulletin"
found no balloons involved in the deaths of more than 800 sea cows examined
over an eight year period.
· The US Coastal Cleanup had
found that balloons or balloon pieces account for a miniscule 0.0064 per
cent of the total debris collected, but no distinction was made between
latex or Mylar balloons.
Summary
In
recent years, opponents of mass balloon releases have expanded their charges
of marine deaths caused by balloons to include sea lions, dolphins, birds
and land based animals, despite the fact that scientists deny these claims
and there is no evidence anywhere in the world to support them.
After
extensive reviews of government and environmental databases, searches on the
Internet, following up media reports and checking for facts covering the
period 1980 to 1998, The Balloon Council in the United States found only one
scientifically documented incident in which a sea animal was harmed by a
latex balloon but no direct evidence that a sea animal had been harmed or
killed by a latex balloon involved in a mass release.
Despite
17 attempts to adopt legislation to ban the mass release of balloons in
various States of the United States last decade, only four have been
successful - and the latest of those was in 1990; and in 1988 the US
District Court denied an injunction to stop a balloon release. The court
stated that there was no probable cause that balloons harm the environment.
However, that same year, the US Congress passed a law requiring all six-pack rings sold in the United States to be biodegradable because plastic six-pack holders have been shown to be harmful to many species of wildlife when left as litter because fish, birds and marine mammals can become entangled in their loops, sometimes suffocating as a result or suffering other injuries. |
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