2006 Eastern Mediterranean oil spill
The 2006 oil spill in the Eastern Mediterranean is an environmental catastrophe that was triggered in the summer of 2006 by the destruction of an electricity station on the Lebanese coast and which caused damage particularly to the coast of Lebanon, but also to the coast of Syria .
course
During the 2006 Lebanon War, the Israeli air force bombed the Djije oil power plant in southern Lebanon, about 25 km south of Beirut , between July 13 and 15 . Five of the six oil tanks, which are about 25 m away from the sea, were damaged. Four of them burned out completely, and the fifth oil leaked uncontrollably. The sixth, undamaged tank with a capacity of 25,000 t threatened to explode temporarily due to an uncontrollable smoldering fire .
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Environment and various environmental protection organizations , 10,000 to 35,000 t of oil leaked into the Mediterranean. According to the Malta- based organization Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Center ( Rempec ), this was medium-weight heating oil . On August 1, the sticky, black oil silt covered a stretch of coast about 80 km in length, which corresponds to around a third of the approximately 225 km long Lebanese coast. According to Rempec and the port administration of the Syrian coastal city of Tartus , a seven-kilometer-long oil spill was discovered on the Lebanese-Syrian border at this time .
Reaction of the Lebanese or Israeli government
The Lebanese Environment Minister Yakoub Sarraf spoke on July 29th of the “biggest environmental disaster in the Mediterranean to date” . B. 1979 (Tanker Independența , 109,000 t) or 1991 (Tanker Haven , 140,000 t) accidents with a multiple of the leaked oil had already occurred. According to Sarraf, the oil spill on the Lebanese coast could not only "have terrible consequences for our country, but also for all countries in the eastern Mediterranean". He also claimed that similar oil disasters had so far only occurred in open oceans , but not in closed waters such as the Mediterranean, which, as evidenced by the tanker disasters mentioned, does not correspond to the facts. Sarraf fears that if countermeasures are not taken, the oil spill could spread to two-thirds of the Lebanese coast. In addition, Israel could also be affected. The environment minister also pointed out the harmful effects on wildlife and the ecosystem , which could even lead to the extinction of some species. Sarraf said it was not possible to fight the oil spill as long as Israel maintains its sea blockade . He had sought technical assistance from the UK , Italy , Spain , the United States and other countries experienced in fighting oil spills.
Israel said it is providing aid through UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) and REMPEC (Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Center) to prevent an ecological catastrophe in the region. The leaked heating oil behaves differently in the sea than the heavier petroleum, the spread of the stain in northern Lebanon has been stopped. The stain remains on the coast and does not spread in the sea. Images that news agencies have distributed about injured seabirds are fake and come from the Gulf Wars .
Damage to health and the environment
According to Stephan Lutter from the environmental foundation WWF , the type of oil that has leaked is particularly “tough, sticky and toxic and therefore more dangerous and more difficult to combat than other oils”. In addition, heavy oil is difficult to biodegrade and has a highly toxic effect on the food chain of marine life. The oil spill has contaminated the Syrian coast over a length of 10 kilometers. The oil slick was around 90 kilometers long and up to 30 kilometers wide.
According to international experts, it cannot be ruled out that it will also reach Turkey, Cyprus and even Greece. The oil has also reached the Palm Islands nature reserve five kilometers off the north coast of Lebanon. This is an important nesting site for the loggerhead turtle and the critically endangered green sea turtle . This lays their eggs in the sand of the Lebanese coast: their newly hatched young animals could no longer reach the sea because of the oil. The red tuna , which is already seriously threatened by overfishing, as well as spawning grounds and resting areas for migratory birds are also affected . The Lebanese environmental expert Wael Hmaidan also reported on July 30th of 40 cm thick lumps of coagulated oil as well as numerous dead marine animals .
The Documentation and Research Center for Accidental Water Pollution (Cedre) in Brest, France, is of the opinion that the oil is less viscous and therefore more dangerous than, for example, that of the " Erika " that leaked off Brittany in 1999 , the amount of oil that leaked out with that of the Disaster in Lebanon is comparable. Nevertheless, even this oil could stick more strongly with prolonged contact with water, which would make cleaning the coast more difficult.
Three years after the incident, most of the damage had been repaired and the overall damage had turned out to be less than initially feared.
Economic damage
The environmental expert Hmaidan expects that the repair of the oil damage, which can only begin after the end of the fighting, will take at least six months. This means that the tourism and fishing industries in the affected areas are deprived of their livelihood for at least this period. The Lebanese government estimates the cost of oil removal at 50 to 100 million US dollars .
By 2012, the Lebanese government had initiated several legal proceedings to obtain financial compensation, but was largely unsuccessful.
Relief efforts
Several Mediterranean countries, including Kuwait, provided equipment and personnel to combat the oil spill. According to the Lebanese government, the amount of cleaning and absorbing agents, oil barriers and skimming devices available is still minimal.
See also
Web links
- Satellite images of the oil spill ( German Aerospace Center )
- Spiegel online : Environmental disaster on Lebanon's coast , August 1, 2006