18 August
2006 - International — Oil is harmful to the environment
every step of the way. It leaks from pipelines,
spills from ships, creates smog in our cities,
and is heating up our planet. Marine ecosystems
already stressed by over fishing and destructive
fishing practices, toxic pollution and climate
change are now taking big hits from recent large
oil spills.
It also has to be said that
while these recent dramatic spills are making
the headlines, oil spills actually occur every
day. Every year millions of gallons of oil enters
the ocean from routine ship and car maintenance,
off shore oil drilling operations and ship spills.
Effects of an oil spill
While the size of a spill is
obviously important, the amount of damage done
can depend even more on other factors like the
type of oil spilled and the location of the spill
- as well as temperature, wind and weather.
Oil can have a smothering effect
on marine life, fouling feathers and fur. It is
a toxic poison that birds and mammals often ingest
while trying to clean themselves. Fish absorb
it through direct contact and through their gills.
The fumes and contact with oil can also cause
nausea and health problems for people in affected
areas.
Even when the oil does not kill,
it can have more subtle and long lasting negative
effects. For example, it can damage fish eggs,
larva and young - wiping out generations. It also
can bio-accumulate up through the food chain as
predators (including humans) eat numbers of fish
(or other wildlife) that have sub-lethal amounts
of oil stored in their bodies.
A rapid and well-resourced response
to an oil spill is vitally important. However,
it must be acknowledged that a real 'clean-up'
in the sense of recovering all the oil and getting
the beaches back to normal, is not possible.
Normally to prevent oil from
spreading over sea surface they use booms (to
contain the oil in polluted areas), and then use
skimmers to suck up the oil and pump into a receiving
tank. But the response to oil spills is an extremely
difficult and sometimes despairing task.
Booms only work when the waves
are small. Even in ideal conditions, with all
the equipment and all the experts deployed immediately,
recovery of more than 20 percent of the original
oil spilled is never practical. Most of it either
gets to the shore, or is incorporated into sediments
and the seabed, or evaporates.
Once the oil hits the shore,
various types of mechanical removal are needed.
But some techniques cause damage themselves and,
for some very sensitive areas, vigorous clean
up techniques can cause more damage than the oil
itself.
Long term clean up and support
for affected communities is often complicated
by a lack of accountability. Often, financial
responsibility is limited to the ship owner, while
the large multinational oil companies that own
the cargo escape responsibility.
However, at least in the case
of routine accidents, the oil companies have international
regimes that can be called upon to provide financial
resources to help, but this is not the case for
spills caused by war where often access is difficult
due to political problems or the presence of munitions
and any financial help is left to donations from
governments and non-profit organizations and whatever
the UN and others can scrape together.
Recent spills:
Indian Ocean
Source: On 15 August, about
470 km (290 miles) from the coast of India, the
Japanese operated Bright Artemis oil tanker collided
with a smaller cargo ship it was attempting to
assist.
Amount and type: About 5.3 million
litres (1.4 million gallons) of crude oil.
Area affected: The spill occurred
hundreds of kilometres from land, so substantial
impacts on inshore and coastal environments are
unlikely.
The effects of 'at sea' spills
are less understood than the more obvious effects
seen when an oil spill washes up on shore, but
could include oiling of offshore seabirds, impacts
on marine mammals and turtles and toxicity to
organisms occupying surface water layers, including
the eggs and larvae of many fish species.
Situation summary: A serious
incident, but largely overshadowed by the disastrous
spills in the Philippines and Lebanon.
Philippines
Source: Solar I, an oil tanker
chartered by Petron Corp., the largest oil refiner
in the Philippines, sank in rough seas.
Amount and type: About 200,000
litres (53,000 gallons) of bunker oil in the initial
spill. The tanker is sunk in deep water, making
recovery unlikely and the ship an ecological time
bomb with an additional 1.8 million litres (475,000
gallons) of bunker fuel on board.
Area affected: Roughly 320 km
(200 miles) of coast line is covered in thick
sludge. Miles of coral reef have been destroyed
and 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of marine reserve
badly damaged.
Situation summary: The Philippines'
worst oil spill. The government has asked for
international assistance to clean up the spill.
However, long-term and possible irreversible damage
to the environment and livelihoods of people is
likely.
As Joseph Gajo, a local marine
reserve caretaker, is quoted as saying, "My
fear is all the mangrove trees will die. If the
mangroves and coral die, this will affect fishermen."
According to Guimaras Governor Joaquin Nava, 25,000
people are already affected or displaced.
Our ship, the Esperanza, is
in the area. We will assist the Philippines Coast
Guard in a visual survey and impacts assessment,
as well as transport clean-up containment equipment
and relief goods donated by the ABS-CBN Foundation
and friends of Greenpeace.
Source: On 13 and 15 July 2006, Jieh coastal power
station, 28km south of Beirut was bombed by the
Israeli navy. Possibly also oil leaked from an
Israeli war frigate hit by a missile.
Amount and type: Between 11
million and 40 million litres (3 - 10.5 million
gallons; 10,000 - 15,000 tonnes) of heavy fuel
oil has leaked into the sea.
Area affected: Due to winds
blowing from the South West to North East and
water current movement, the oil spill was partly
carried out to sea and partly dispersed along
the coast. The pollution is estimated to extend
at least 150km (90 miles) off shore, and the oil
has hit a 150km stretch of coastline extending
even into Syria.
What is and should be done:
Oil needs to be recovered from impacted beaches
and from the sea's surface. There are reports
and satellite images that show there is some oil
offshore, but because aerial surveillance is not
currently possible, the amount and extent are
not fully known.
In order to get a complete assessment
of the extent of the spill, as well as getting
equipment and experts to the scene the air, land
and sea blockade needs to be lifted. Oil recovery
with safe and secure storage facilities are needed
which will help to mitigate the impacts. A full
environmental damage assessment programme needs
to be implemented.
Greenpeace environmental impact
assessment teams in both Israel and Lebanon are
helping gather information needed to deal with
the environmental cost of the war, including this
spill.
Situation summary: This is a
significant spill and will have lasting impacts.
Heavy fuel oil is persistent in the environment
and a significantly large amount of it has washed
up onto shore. Containment and clean up was initially
impossible because of the war. These factors make
this a particularly nightmarish spill.
Initial coastal clean up could
take 6 to 12 months. The tourism and fishing industries
are particularly hard hit, and one UN spokesperson
has been reported as saying the damage could last
"up to a century".
