Peruvian authorities reported dead animals found covered in oil.
An oil slick of at least 18,000 square meters affects beaches, protected areas and marine fauna in the Peruvian province of Callao, the Ministry of the Environment reported Tuesday, after a spill in the sea that the refinery involved attributed to the waves produced by the volcanic eruption in Tonga, and which it assures is attending.
“We have been able to determine that there are 18,000 square meters of beaches affected by the hydrocarbon spill,” Miriam Alegría, president of the Environmental Assessment and Enforcement Agency (OEFA) of the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment, told the ATV television channel.
The spill occurred on Saturday at the La Pampilla Refinery, owned by the Spanish company Repsol, during the unloading process of the Italian-flagged tanker “Mare Dorium”, presumably due to wave violence.
“The damage is quite serious because we are also talking about protected areas that are being affected”, Joy added.
Authorities reported dead animals found covered in oil.
The La Pampilla Refinery assured this Tuesday in a statement that “since the beginning of the incident, it has been carrying out remediation work on the coastal coastline, and beach cleaning.”
They detail that in the sea “more than 1,500 meters of containment barriers have been deployed that cover all the affected areas”, and that “currently six boats with 50-person brigades are recovering hydrocarbon with skimmer-type skimmers and special absorbent material, for subsequent safe disposal.”
As for the response on the ground, the refinery affirms that “work is being done to return the coastal area to its original state”, with more than 200 people in crews “with specialized equipment for remediation work on Cavero, Bahía Blanca and Santa Rosa beaches”, and following the protocols and regulations on the matter.
The refinery also maintains that it is “collaborating closely with the competent authorities to overcome the incident, providing them with all the required information.”
Precisely this Tuesday, some three dozen fishermen and residents of the Ventanilla district, in El Callao, staged a protest in front of the La Pampilla Refinery, demanding remedial action by the company.
Miguel Ángel Núñez, leader of one of the fishermen’s unions in the area, told local media that the spill “is affecting us and polluting the biodiversity in the waters. We did not see that they are doing any work (…) there are people who live from daily fishing”.
According to OEFA, there are three beaches affected by the spill in the coastal district of Ventanilla del Callao, and two protected nature reserves in the Pacific Ocean.
The regulatory body indicated that the La Pampilla Refinery had reported an emptying of 0.16 barrels of hydrocarbon (about 25 liters) in a space of just 2.5 square meters.
“This does not fit with the impact caused on the beaches of Ventanilla”, pointed out, however, the president of OEFA.
The La Pampilla Refinery reported on Sunday that there had been a “limited spill” off the coast of Lima.
Rescue birds with oil
The prosecutor’s office opened an investigation on Monday for the alleged crime of environmental pollution against the legal representatives and officials of the refinery.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the company La Pampilla reported that only 7 gallons of crude were dumped into the sea.
the ministry indicated that the company that caused the spill could receive a fine of about 34.5 million dollars.
“There are birds that we have been able to rescue, (but) the ravages of this oil continue to appear. It’s unfortunate,” said Luis Vargas, animal protector of Ventanilla, to the ATV television channel.
The National Forest Service (Serfor) reported that they rescued five birds, including three cormorants, covered in oil.
The Navy confirmed that the Italian-flagged tanker is anchored in the bay of the port of Callao until the investigations are completed.
“It is blocked from sailing,” the captain of the Port of Callao, Roberto Teixeira, told AFP.
The submarine volcanic eruption in the Pacific sparked panic on the islands of the kingdom of Tonga on Saturday, with a tsunami that caused waves of up to 15 meters, the Tongan government reported Tuesday.
The geological phenomenon was heard as far as Alaska, causing a tsunami that flooded coastal strips of the Pacific from Japan to the United States and also reached South America.
In Peru two women died the same Saturday when they were dragged by the waves. (I)
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