The Environmental Protection Ministry said Monday that the crude oil leak in southern Israel was four times bigger than first believed, and that as much as 5 million liters (31,500 barrels) of oil have polluted the Evrona Nature Reserve in Israel's Arava area. "This is one of the worst ecological disasters in the countrys history," said Guy Samet, director of the Southern District in the Environmental Protection Ministry. Ecologists have warned that it is very difficult to fully assess the damage caused to the reserve's ecosystem, and that the area's rehabilitation could take years. The pipeline, which is maintained by the Ashkelon-Eilat Pipeline Company, was breached on Thursday night, at a site some 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the southern resort town of Eilat, sending crude oil gushing across an area stretching some 7 kilometers (4 miles). Ministry officials criticized AEPC for using the operational confidentiality it is afforded under its license to conceal the magnitude of the leak. The company initially estimated that 1 million to 1.5 million liters of oil had spilled onto the reserve, and revised its data to 5 million liters only after the ministry's "green police" launched an investigation. AEPC's license, granted in 1968, includes several confidentiality clauses, which have allowed the company to avoid maintaining corporate transparency over its actions, procedures and protocols. According to Channel 2 News, the Environmental Protection Ministry has shut down the pipeline -- a major oil conduit running between the Mediterranean and the Red seas -- barring AEPC from resuming its operations pending a full review of its permit. The ministry and the Nature and Parks Authority have launched an emergency operation to try to contain the pollution caused by the leak. According to the ministry's website, over 20,000 tons of contaminated soil had been removed by cleanup crews by Tuesday morning, and transferred to the Nimra landfill north of Eilat. Together with AEPC teams, special reservoirs have been dug to collect the smaller oil deposits that still remain. AEPC has also provided the crews with infrared imaging of the Evrona Nature Reserve, to better assess the situation on the ground. Israel's weather forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday predicted rains and possible floods in the Negev and Arava areas, prompting concerns that the crude oil sediments that have yet to be cleaned up could find their way to the Gulf of Eilat. In preparation of possible flash floods, absorption equipment has been deployed across miles of the Arava region. Special equipment has also been put into place at sea, in case any oil runoff reaches the water. A ministry official on Tuesday defined cleanup efforts as "a race against time." "If the rain causes floods, that will take the oil east and south, and deep into the soil. It will spread out and it will be more difficult to deal with," said Elli Groner, of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. On Sunday, State Comptroller Yosef Shapira ordered his office to move up the next Environmental Protection Ministry audit, which will review the operations and emergency readiness of all the bodies dealing with the oil spill disaster in southern Israel. Meanwhile, Meretz MK Tamar Zandberg urged Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein on Monday to revoke the confidentially clauses included in AEPC's license. "Thanks to the confidentially [clauses] in its permit, AEPC has effectively been enjoying a super-status that has granted it immunity for over 30 years," Channel 2 quoted Zandberg as saying. "Confidentially may have been necessary in the past, but it has since expanded, and now it is used as a smokescreen meant to cover up political appointees and tax evasion. ... Evading transparency and public scrutiny leads to disaster, and it is hardly surprising that a company that is not subjected to supervision has failed to meet environmental safety codes, under the auspices of confidentiality," Zandberg said. "There is no reason for this company, which has shown blatant disregard to public safety, to be immune to supervision." Meanwhile, Eilat resident Lisa Mellish has filed a 380 million shekel ($96 million) class action lawsuit against AEPC on behalf of the residents of Eilat, saying they were exposed to toxic fumes as a result of the leak. The lawsuit, filed Sunday with the Tel Aviv District Court by attorney David Mena, alleges gross negligence on the company's part, which it says resulted in the ecological disaster in the Arava. The lawsuit claims the company "was indifferent to what was a predictable and easily preventable environmental disaster, especially given a similar event that happened near Zin Valley," in the Negev in 2011. Despite the past incident, "the company did nothing to protect the pipeline, which stretches across the entire Negev area," from leaks, it says. It also claims that AEPC's "outdated protocols and faulty planning" were directly responsible for the leak. The lawsuit also claims that the Environmental Protection Ministry was negligent, and that it had failed to protect public interests in the area. Meanwhile, AEPC issued a statement saying: "The leak occurred in the pipeline over a technical malfunction whose nature has yet to be determined. "The company's breach control system alerted [us] to the incident and the valves bordering the [damaged] part of the pipeline were immediately closed, isolating the area from the oil running through the pipeline. Oil flow stopped once the valves were closed, but some of the crude trapped within the damaged section leaked out. The advanced control systems and the company's rapid response prevented a bigger incident." AEPC also said the company "followed all emergency protocols from the moment the leak was discovered and reported it to all necessary bodies in real time. ... [The company] invests considerable resources in preventative maintenance, including initiating renovations and upgrades to its pipelines, in accordance with strict international standards. The company also invests considerable resources in acquiring state of the art control systems to maintain its pipelines, and has in place an emergency apparatus that is equipped with the best technological measures available, as well as highly skilled personnel, to provide a rapid, professional response to emergency situations." Since the leak was detected, AEPC said, "The company has been coordinating its around-the-clock operations with the Environmental Protection Ministry and the Nature and Parks Authority, to remove contaminated soil and pump out the oil."
'Race against time' to contain oil spill disaster in southern Israel
Crude oil leak four times bigger than first believed • Rainy weather, potential floods place miles of nature reserve at risk • Pipeline shut down pending Environmental Protection Ministry review • Ecologists warn area's rehabilitation could take years.
Load more...