USA#1
08-03-2006, 09:00 AM
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The United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has expressed its "grave concern" about oil pollution in Lebanese coastal waters.
An oil slick caused by Israeli bombing of the Jiyyeh power station now covers 80km (50 miles) of coast.
Local environmental groups describe the slick as an "environmental disaster".
Almost as much oil may have entered the water as during the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker incident in Alaska, which led to widespread ecological damage.
The UN and other international organisations are assisting the Lebanese government as it attempts to contain thousands of tonnes of oil.
ANOTHER ARTICLE ---
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QUOTE
Oil spill adds ecological crisis to Lebanon's agony
27 Jul 2006 17:07:14 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Lin Noueihed
BEIRUT, July 27 (Reuters) - Along Lebanon's sandy beaches and rocky headlands runs a belt of black sludge, 10,000 to 30,000 tonnes of oil that spilled into the Mediterranean Sea after Israel bombed a power plant.
Lebanon's Environment Ministry says the oil flooded into the sea when Israeli jets hit storage tanks at the Jiyyeh plant south of Beirut on July 13 and 15, creating an ecological crisis that Lebanon's government has neither the money nor the expertise to deal with.
"We have never seen a spill like this in the history of Lebanon. It is a major catastrophe," Environment Minister Yacoub al-Sarraf told Reuters.
"The equipment we have is for minor spills. We use it once in a blue moon to clean a small spill of 50 tonnes or so. To clean this whole thing up we would need an armada ... The cost of a full clean-up could run as high as $40-50 million."
The spill is especially threatening since fish spawn and sea turtles nest on Lebanon's coast, including the green turtle which is endangered in the Mediterranean, local ecologists say.
Carried by a north-easterly wind, the spill has travelled 70-80 km up the coast of Lebanon, which has been bombarded by Israel for 16 days in a war against Hizbollah.
An Israeli warship damaged by a Hizbollah missile on July 15 may also have spilled diesel oil into the sea, according to the Environment Ministry website ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) ([Only registered and activated users can see links])).
At Beirut's Sporting Club, seven men in navy overalls perch on the edge of a man-made inlet skimming sludge, using buckets on the end of sticks and pouring it into plastic containers.
The ground around them is black, as are their forearms and clothes. The air is thick with acrid fumes that sting the eyes and irritate the throat.
The team is part of a pilot clean-up commissioned by the Environment Ministry. Another mop-up is underway at the San Antoine Sandy Beach Resort in northern Lebanon.
MARINE LIFE DEAD
"It arrived the day after they hit the Jiyyeh power plant. The worst has passed now. A couple of days ago the whole coastline was black," said Walid Abu Nassar, surveying the damage to the Sporting Club, which he runs.
"First they tried to pump it out but that didn't work, now this. These are crude methods but Lebanon has no other way."
Lebanon has turned to oil producer Kuwait for help. A plane load of equipment is due to arrive from Kuwait via Syria by the end of the week, Sarraf said.
More at link ...
The Israelis are NOT thinking about consequences at all ... They may have just damage to their own environment ... down the road ... Israel after all is situated too on the Mediteranian Sea. [Only registered and activated users can see links]
Dumb Asses !!! [Only registered and activated users can see links]
The United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has expressed its "grave concern" about oil pollution in Lebanese coastal waters.
An oil slick caused by Israeli bombing of the Jiyyeh power station now covers 80km (50 miles) of coast.
Local environmental groups describe the slick as an "environmental disaster".
Almost as much oil may have entered the water as during the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker incident in Alaska, which led to widespread ecological damage.
The UN and other international organisations are assisting the Lebanese government as it attempts to contain thousands of tonnes of oil.
ANOTHER ARTICLE ---
[Only registered and activated users can see links] ([Only registered and activated users can see links])
QUOTE
Oil spill adds ecological crisis to Lebanon's agony
27 Jul 2006 17:07:14 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Lin Noueihed
BEIRUT, July 27 (Reuters) - Along Lebanon's sandy beaches and rocky headlands runs a belt of black sludge, 10,000 to 30,000 tonnes of oil that spilled into the Mediterranean Sea after Israel bombed a power plant.
Lebanon's Environment Ministry says the oil flooded into the sea when Israeli jets hit storage tanks at the Jiyyeh plant south of Beirut on July 13 and 15, creating an ecological crisis that Lebanon's government has neither the money nor the expertise to deal with.
"We have never seen a spill like this in the history of Lebanon. It is a major catastrophe," Environment Minister Yacoub al-Sarraf told Reuters.
"The equipment we have is for minor spills. We use it once in a blue moon to clean a small spill of 50 tonnes or so. To clean this whole thing up we would need an armada ... The cost of a full clean-up could run as high as $40-50 million."
The spill is especially threatening since fish spawn and sea turtles nest on Lebanon's coast, including the green turtle which is endangered in the Mediterranean, local ecologists say.
Carried by a north-easterly wind, the spill has travelled 70-80 km up the coast of Lebanon, which has been bombarded by Israel for 16 days in a war against Hizbollah.
An Israeli warship damaged by a Hizbollah missile on July 15 may also have spilled diesel oil into the sea, according to the Environment Ministry website ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) ([Only registered and activated users can see links])).
At Beirut's Sporting Club, seven men in navy overalls perch on the edge of a man-made inlet skimming sludge, using buckets on the end of sticks and pouring it into plastic containers.
The ground around them is black, as are their forearms and clothes. The air is thick with acrid fumes that sting the eyes and irritate the throat.
The team is part of a pilot clean-up commissioned by the Environment Ministry. Another mop-up is underway at the San Antoine Sandy Beach Resort in northern Lebanon.
MARINE LIFE DEAD
"It arrived the day after they hit the Jiyyeh power plant. The worst has passed now. A couple of days ago the whole coastline was black," said Walid Abu Nassar, surveying the damage to the Sporting Club, which he runs.
"First they tried to pump it out but that didn't work, now this. These are crude methods but Lebanon has no other way."
Lebanon has turned to oil producer Kuwait for help. A plane load of equipment is due to arrive from Kuwait via Syria by the end of the week, Sarraf said.
More at link ...
The Israelis are NOT thinking about consequences at all ... They may have just damage to their own environment ... down the road ... Israel after all is situated too on the Mediteranian Sea. [Only registered and activated users can see links]
Dumb Asses !!! [Only registered and activated users can see links]