[1999] [2000] [2001] [2002] [2003] [2004] [2005] [2006] [2007] [2008]

---

 

Discovery News - 25 july 2006

Oil Spill Threatens Lebanon Coast

Haro Chakmakjian, AFP – Discovery News
July 27, 2006 — A Lebanese NGO has launched an international appeal for help to combat the environmental crisis caused by a huge oil spill south of Beirut, more than two weeks into an Israeli air war.
"The escalating Israeli attacks on Lebanon did not only kill its civilians and destroy its infrastructure, but it is also annihilating the environment," warned the Green Line Association.

It said an air strike two weeks ago on Jiyeh power plant which serves southern Lebanon had resulted in a 15,000-ton oil spill.
"The power plant has six fuel tanks. Four of them have burnt completely, while the fifth one, which is also the main cause of the spill, is still burning," it warned.
The spill has hit more than 60 miles of the Lebanese coast from Jiyyeh to Shekka, north of the capital, including Beirut's only sandy public beach of Ramlet al-Baida, said Green Line.
"This is definitely one of the worst environmental crises in Lebanese history," the group said in a joint statement with other environmental groups.
The NGOs warned that the marine environment, including the endangered green turtle — not to mention the future tourism prospects of Lebanon — would "suffer tremendously for several years from this spill."
"This oil spill is bigger than what the local authorities can handle and urgent help is needed from outside," they said, while adding that Israel's sustained air strikes were endangering those involved in clean-up operations.
The environment ministry, which has received a pledge from Kuwait to share its expertise in ecological crises built up after the 1991 Gulf War, said a complete clean-up would cost tens of millions of dollars.
While residents of the Beirut area have been advised to steer clear of the Mediterranean waters, officials said Wednesday the ancient Phoenician port of Byblos had also been polluted by the oil slick.
Fishing boats at the port, north of Beirut, were surrounded by a large oil slick while nearby beaches were also covered by the sticky fluid.
The pollution, which has killed fish and much of the marine life in the area, threatens a wider ecological catastrophe, Environment Minister Yacub Sarraf has said.
Sarraf and residents said the slick was also caused by a leak from an Egyptian commercial boat which was hit by a missile off Beirut during the battles between Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces.
An Egyptian sailor was killed when the boat was apparently hit by a Hezbollah missile, as it sailed close to Israeli naval vessels.
Four Israeli sailors were also killed when their warship, which was patrolling Lebanese waters as part of a massive air and sea blockade, was hit in the attack.
"The black slick appeared about seven or eight days ago and is becoming thicker by the day," said Zalpha Sfeir, a resident of the picturesque resort town known for its Phoenician ruins and fish restaurants.
"It will take six months to clean up everything, when the boats which are off the coast will stop dumping all their toxic liquids," she said.
Officials in Lebanon's northern neighbour Syria issued a similar warning after a slick reached its shores.
"A black slick spread over six miles appeared yesterday (Wednesday) on the Syrian coast," said Hassan Murjan, environment official for the southern port of Tartus.
"It's diesel from the electric power station or the boat that were attacked in Lebanon," he said, adding that tests were being done to determine where the oil came from.
The rocky nature of the coastline meant the pollution would have to be cleaned by hand "which will take some time," he said.