KARACHI, Oct 17: Preliminary results of the study on the oil- affected sand and water samples, collected from Clifton beach and the area around the grounded Tasman Spirit, were presented at a seminar here on Friday.

The seminar on “Bioremediation by oil-eating microbes” was organized by Microbiology Department of Karachi University. The seminar was presided over by Secretary Sindh Environmental Protection Agency Shujaat Qarni.

The speakers mentioned that the spillage of more than 30,000 tons crude oil brought a black day for people living in Clifton, Shirin Jinnah Colony and adjacent areas. This would be recorded as the worst ecological, environmental, economic disaster with short and long term health-related consequences for humans, marine flora and fauna, they added.

“We don’t prepare to face disaster, we like to discuss the aftermath of accidents,” was the emerging view at the seminar.

They said that the huge damage to environment could be avoided if the concerned agencies had acted in time.

An expert on bioremediation of polluted environments, Prof Dr Tasneem Adam Ali also spoke. —APP