ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: A joint committee of the health ministry and World Health Organization (WHO) after an impact assessment into the oil spill in Karachi has declared the incident as an environment catastrophe of massive proportions having hazardous health impact.

The committee has suggested to ban fishing by providing alternative means of livelihood to fishermen and temporarily discontinue the use of seafood for chicken feed.

The report, the details of which Federal Health Minister Mohammad Nasir Khan will present to Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali, also stated that there was a marked change in colour of water, soil and sand along with presence of dead fish in the affected areas.

The symptoms of watering eyes, dermatitis, breathlessness or exertion, numbness or headache were also consistent to the degree of exposure, but these were short-term effects and do not warrant hospitalization or major medication.

Anticipating the gravity and extent of the health impact of the oil spill, the health minister had set up a joint committee of the health ministry and WHO for rapid health impact assessment in oil affected areas of Karachi.

The committee is led by Prof Kazi Abdul Shakoor, Director of Jinnah Post Graduate Medical College (JPMC), and comprised Dr Muhammad Zakaria, Prof Jamal Ara, Dr Sabina, Dr Nadeem Rizvi, Dr Mahmud Saeed, Dr Seemin Jamali, Dr Amir Elahi Johri, WHO technical officer for environment and Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi, WHO operations officer for Sindh.

A summary of the report said that initial efforts were concentrated on cleaning up operations, evacuation of people and providing first aid/emergency relief of the health-related symptoms of asthma, ophthalmic and dermatological problems experienced by the affected people.

The committee has also recommended short-term as well as long-term health impact of the oil spill, including extreme cleaning of the area irrespective of the expense involved since crude oil contains highly toxic and even carcinogenic substances.

The committee has also called for health education of the people about potential hazards of exposure to oil spill.

The committee also asked for conducting water sampling of tube-wells in PQA (Port Qassim Authority) area due to the possibility of contamination from oil spillage, periodic rotation to minimize exposure and provision of personal protection to the relief workers.