KARACHI: Assessment of oil slick impact to begin soon: CM
By Our Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 10: The Sindh Assembly was on Monday informed that work on a systematic assessment the environmental damage and ecological disaster resulting from the oil spillage in the wake of the Tasman Spirit mishap would commence shortly.
The assurance came from Chief Minister Ali Muhammad Khan Mahar, who also holds the portfolio of Environment, in a written reply to the PPP Parliamentarians’ Ms Humera Alwani’s question.
She had asked whether it was a fact that following the grounding of the ship, 65,000 tonnes of oil had spilled which caused major losses to the coastal belt. She wanted to know the extent of damage. She had also solicited detailed information about the remedial measures taken by the government in this regard.
The assembly was informed that the Tasman Spirit, which ran aground on July 27, was carrying 67,535 tonnes of Iranian light crude oil. As per the information received from KPT sources, around 28,000 to 29,000 tonnes of oil had spilled whereas the rest 37,295 tonnes was retrieved from the ship safely.
The CM said that as far as neutralizing of the adverse effects was concerned, it was being dealt with on top priority. A committee was established by President Musharraf under the chairmanship of the provincial chief secretary to ensure an effective coordination forum to addressing the situation. This committee had constituted another committee comprising heads of various organizations involved in beach-cleaning operations with the provincial Environment Secretary as its focal person.
Pursuant to that manual, mechanical and bio-remedial methods had been adopted to launch a full-fledged operation to deal with this massive oil pollution, which had started showing results towards restoration and improvement of the beach environment.
The assembly was also informed that 3,441 bags of oily sand and garbage were collected from the beach and removed to a landfill site, 40 kilometres away.
An Environmental Impact Evaluation Committee (EIEC) was constituted by the federal government on Aug 14. It had 20 representatives from all concerned organizations, including oil spill experts from the United Nations Environment Programme and a professor of Marine Biology at the University of Alaska. The committee submitted an assessment report to the federal/provincial government in September.
Work on this systematic assessment of the extent and severity of the environmental damage and ecological injury is about to commence very shortly with the most modern techniques being applied and with the help of highly qualified scientists, according to the CM.
With regard to fixing responsibility, the chief minister said the matter did not fall in the jurisdiction of this agency. However, he added, it was informed by the KPT that an inquiry committee had been formed by the federal ministry of communication under the DG (Ports and Shipping) to evaluate the causes of the incident.
According to the assessment report prepared by the EIEC, the air was polluted immediately after the grounding of the ship on July 27, said the CM.
The situation worsened with the major spillage on August 13 and 18 due to the evaporated component of the crude oil. According to the chemical properties, around 40 per cent of the oil contained compounds that evaporate under prevailing weather conditions. It was believed that approximately 11,000 tonnes of volatile organic compounds would have mixed up with the air following the spillage.
According to these findings, the pungent odour was reported to be perceptible at a distance of more than one kilometre from the beach area. The report also mentions concerns expressed by the residents regarding the effects of dispersant spraying. It also mentioned incidence of respiratory problems among the asthma patients and irritation of eyes/skin.
Extensive contamination of the beach was obvious. The oil content of seawater at the open sea was 1.35mg/litre and varied from 3.95mg/litre in the Fish Harbour Channel to 5.15mg/litre at the point opposite the Lighthouse and 10.11mg/litre at the point where the Tasman Spirit had run aground.
The bottom sediment at the open sea was found on August 19 to contain 51.6mg/kg and varied from 195mg/kg in the Fish Harbour Channel to 382mg/litre at the point opposite the Lighthouse and 968mg/litre near the ship.
An acute oil toxicity on mangroves was clearly visible during the field surveys after the spillage, according to the chief minister.
No reply was provided by Minister for Law and Human Rights to a question by the PPP’s Mohammad Rafiq advocate who wanted to know whether the water being supplied to the inhabitants of Lyari was contaminated and, as such, human rights violation was committed. He had also asked questions about the status of the Judicial Complex which the government had planned to build in Karachi.
In fact, replies to four of a total of seven questions were no provided to the House.
In reply to a question from the leader of the opposition, Nisar Khuhro, the House was informed that 448 posts of Tapedar were lying vacant and appointment against these vacant posts would be made as per the relevant recruitment rules.
