Cleanup of Lebanon's massive oil spill has barely begun

[Guest guest]

Source >

http://news./s/afp/20060826/wl_afp/mideastconflictlebanoneuenvironmento\

il_060826101031

 

by Ann Chaon Sat Aug 26, 6:16 AM ET

 

BEIRUT (AFP) - Cleanup of a massive oil slick along

Lebanon's coast has barely begun more than one month

after Israel's bombing of a power plant unleashed the

pollution.

 

 

At a bend in the boardwalk along the edge of Beirut,

thick and nauseating black water laps against about 20

flat-bottomed fishing boats sheltered in a cove toward

the south of the city.

 

The

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates

that between 10,000 and 15,000 tonnes (11,000-16,500

tons) of fuel oil leaked from the Jiyeh electric power

plant in mid-July after two Israeli air raids. The

seaside plant, 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of

Beirut, burned for 12 days.

 

The spill has polluted about 200 kilometres (124

miles) of the Lebanese and Syrian coasts, the

European Union said.

 

On Friday the Lebanese civil defence agency, advised

by Danish experts, began to clean oil at the cove, and

at the Raouche port in Beirut.

 

Teams have also been at work 40 kilometers north at

the ancient port city and tourist site of Byblos,

where in 10 days they extracted 250 tonnes (275 tons)

of oil, said Ian Nedsa, one of the European Union's

Danish experts in Beirut.

 

At the capital's only public beach, Ramlet el-Baida,

local environmental group Greenline started on

Thursday collecting polluted sand after two

interruptions by the police.

 

Along with Jiyeh itself, these are the sites most

affected by the oil, said Mohammed el-Sarji, president

of the Lebanese professional divers' union who

photographed the sea bed to assess the spill's impact.

 

" The presence of oil was detected there to a depth of

between three and five metres (9.9 and 16.5 feet) and

a breadth of eight metres off Jiyeh, " he said.

 

Minister of Environment Yaacoub Sarraf said all

available equipment is at the scene. " But it's not

enough, " he said.

 

" Today we received pumps and floating dams from Norway

and Kuwait and we are waiting for more from France,

Jordan and Spain. "

 

Sarraf said an Israeli blockade has hindered the

cleanup effort.

 

Israel imposed the air, sea and land blockade when war

broke out with the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah

on July 12, and it remains in place despite a

ceasefire that took effect on August 14. Israel said

the move aims to stop Hezbollah from smuggling arms

into Lebanon.

 

Sarraf said he is hoping a United Nations helicopter

will be able to fly over the area on Monday or Tuesday

to assess the spill's spread.

 

" It is indispensable to evaluate the risks, " he said.

 

Immediate helicopter surveys and a joint effort to

clean up to 30 coastal sites in Lebanon were part of a

recovery plan unveiled this month by senior officials

from the United Nations, the European Union and

regional states meeting in Greece.

 

The operation would cost at least 50 million euros (64

million dollars).

 

Israeli authorities has given safety assurances for

aerial UN surveillance missions, the United Nations

Environment Programme has said.

 

" Certain beaches that had been cleaned, like in

Byblos, were soiled again by oil that stays on the

surface, " said Gaby Khalaf, director of the National

Centre of Marine Research in Batroun, north of Beirut.

 

Rick Steiner, an American expert dispatched by the

World Conservation Union (IUCN), said " the marine and

coastal ecosystem is more contaminated than was

thought. "

 

After cleaning the beaches and rocks, it will be

" indispensable to recover the maximum amount of oil

again from the surface and especially at the bottom of

the water, " Steiner said, recommending use of

remote-control robots to collect pollutants from the

depths.

 

Greenline has called the oil spill the biggest

environmental disaster in the Mediterranean basin.

 

Last week the Finnish presidency of the EU urged

member states to provide more technical assistance,

saying the cleanup could take years.