Environmental concerns abound

Karachi

The Sindh Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) called an immediate meeting to prepare a quick assessment report with recommendations to send to higher authorities regarding the oil pipeline burst in Korangi. Officials, however, refused to share the decisions of the meeting, and said that they will present the report directly to the high-ups.

An environmentalist associated with the semi-government organisation told The News on conditions of anonymity said that he advised Sepa officials to bring dry mud trucks to build an embankment around the affected area. In case of rain, the oil could flow to the seawater and may affect marine ecology, he said, adding however, that he was not sure if the Agency had the equipment to deal with the matter.

Experts claim that the spill from a damaged oil pipeline of the Pak Arab Refinery in the Korangi neighbourhood can have serious repercussions for the environment and the health of residents from the densely-populated area, and the impending rains will complicate matters further.

“Underground water, air and vegetation will be severely polluted because of the spilt oil,” Mohammed Azhar, a teacher at the Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Karachi (KU), told The News. The first precautionary action should be the immediate evacuation of residents to safe areas, he said, adding that in the mean time, authorities concerned should spray chemicals on the scene of the spillage to reduce the harmful effects of crude oil.

“If it rains, the oil may also contaminate surface water sources and ultimately flow to the sea which will result in the destruction of marine life,” Azhar warned.

An increase in breathing problems has been reported by the residents of the affected areas, and environmentalists assert that the spill may have long term affects on lungs, thus multiplying the risk of cancer and other diseases.

Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Secretary-General Dr Habib Rehman Soomro said that oil spillage was a considerable threat to the health of the people if prompt measures were not taken. He explained that crude oil carries ingredients such as carbon and sulphur, which are potential health hazards. Inhaling polluted air also carries risks for health. Dr Soomro said that foremost importance should be given to the matter to prevent health hazards.

Meanwhile, people who had been evacuated from the neighbourhood of the oil spillage have already returned to their residences. Another environmentalist, Waqar Ahmed from the Institute of Environment Studies, KU, said that crude oil carried more infections. “The oil was spilled in the form of a fountain which rose up to 70 feet up in the sky. It carried volatile compounds,” he said, adding that the air these people are breathing in now is harmful for both humans and the wildlife.

He explained that the oily mud can be removed from affected areas, but “all that is required now is political will.”

Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) Chairperson Mohammed Ali Shah has said that it is the failure of the government institutions, which have done nothing to avoid human and environment loss when such incidents occur. Shah said the Korangi oil spillage occurred near a drainage, which carries urban waste to the sea. He said it will affect the marine ecology directly or indirectly, as the sea is not far from the affected site.

Shah said that the government institutions have still been unable to prepare a comprehensive report about the loss of the Tasman Spirit’s oil cargo. The compensation to the affected fishermen is still pending. By Jan Khaskheli, Source The News International