KARACHI, Sept 12: An Action Committee has been formed to monitor the implementation of the decisions taken by the Co-ordination Committee with regard to tackle the situation caused by oil spill from broken tanker Tasman Spirit.
This was decided at a high-level meeting of the Co-ordination Committee, set up by President Gen Pervez Musharraf, which met on Friday at the Sindh Secretariat.
The meeting reviewed the oil slick position, besides discussing measures to improve the environment and cleaning operation along coastline.
The Action Committee, headed by Shujaat Ali Qarni, Environment Secretary, will comprise Brig Iftikhar Arshad Khan, Karachi Port Trust, Brig Maqsood Hussain, Administrator, Defence Housing Authority and Mir Hussain Ali, District Co-ordination Officer, City Government, while other members will also assist it, as and when required.
The meeting was informed that debris and bags of contaminated sand would be shifted, in covered trucks, to a temporary site, so that later it could be properly dumped according to scientific methods.
The Chief Secretary, Mutawakkil Kazi, while underlining the need for mapping the oil-hit area on scientific basis, ordered that its limits be also defined.
Because of occurring near a thickly populated area, the spill should be documented, the meeting observed.
The meeting decided that under a well-planned strategy, sediment sampling, coastal water survey and assessment of damage caused to national resources should be carried out by pooling all available resources.
The CS ordered that a modern fool proof system be adopted to quickly transport the contaminated material from the beach to a landfill site at Jam Chakro.
The CS urged special measures to ensure that contaminated material should not create any environmental hazard for the residents of the city during its transportation.
The meeting was also informed that samples of oily sand had been collected from the beach under the supervision of experts for laboratory tests.
Assessment of oil spill damage should be carried out through scientific investigation, covering all components of the ecosystem, the meeting emphasized.
The committee appreciated the assistance being provided by Stefan Micallef, Chief Emergency Response Branch, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), who is currently here to tackle the disaster caused due to oil spillage, while the assessment report by EPA on environmental impact of the spill was also appreciated.
MINISTER: Minister for State for Environment, Local Government and Rural Development Maj (retd) Tahir Iqbal has said that he would take up the matters related to oil spill at all required international and local levels.
Speaking at a meeting with UNEP experts and environmental impact evaluation committee on oil-spill in Sindh EPA office on Thursday, he said that proposals would be formulated to examine intensity of the damage done to the environment and stated that the government would leave no stones unturned to properly handle this case, in collaboration with other government bodies.
The minister was appraised of direct, in-direct and far-reaching damages inflicted upon the environment. He was also given a detailed briefing about the toxic effects on marine life and intensity of the scattered toxic matter on the beach.— PPI/APP