SPAIN: VOLUNTEERS BEGIN ARRIVING ON THE GALICIAN COAST TO ASSIST WITH CLEAN UP OF MASSIVE OIL SPILL WHICH HAS RUINED HUNDREDS OF BEACHES
Record ID:
644084
SPAIN: VOLUNTEERS BEGIN ARRIVING ON THE GALICIAN COAST TO ASSIST WITH CLEAN UP OF MASSIVE OIL SPILL WHICH HAS RUINED HUNDREDS OF BEACHES
- Title: SPAIN: VOLUNTEERS BEGIN ARRIVING ON THE GALICIAN COAST TO ASSIST WITH CLEAN UP OF MASSIVE OIL SPILL WHICH HAS RUINED HUNDREDS OF BEACHES
- Date: 2nd December 2002
- Summary: (W6) NEMUNA, GALICIA, NORTHWESTERN SPAIN (DECEMBER 02, 2002) (REUTERS) 1. WIDE VIEW OF THE COASTLINE AND OIL-POLLUTED BEACH 0.03 2. VARIOUS OF BEGLIAN WORKERS CLEANING THE BEACH (2 SHOTS) 0.12 3. CLOSE-UP OF BELGIAN VOLUNTEER MOVING LARGE AMOUNTS OF CONGEALED OIL 0.18 4. WIDE OF VOLUNTEERS CLEANING OIL FROM THE BEACH AND LOADING IT INTO BUCKETS 0.22 5. CU: BUCKETS OF OIL AND SAND COLLECTED ON TROLLEY 0.27 6. VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEERS PUTTING BUCKETS ON OIL AND SAND INTO TIP/ WIDE OF OIL FILLED TIP (3 SHOTS) 0.41 7. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) BELGIAN TEAM LEADER, JAN GENEN, SAYING "Well, the conditions are ideal for cleaning up the oil. It is easy to pick up off the beach and doesn't slip through your fingers." 1.03 8. VARIOUS OF TEAM CLEANING UP OIL FROM BEACH (5 SHOTS) 1.27 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAN GENEN SAYING "The clean-up will have to go on for months, maybe about eight months, because the sea will continue to bring oil onto the beach." 1.48 (W6) MUXIA, BELGIUM (DECEMBER 2, 2002) (REUTERS) 10. WIDE VIEW OF PEOPLE WORKING ON BEACH 1.53 11. VARIOUS: MORE OF VOLUNTEERS CLEANING UP OIL (2 SHOTS) 2.05 12. MV: MORE OF OIL BEING COLLECTED AND PUT INTO SKIP 2.16 13. MV: OIL-COVERED ROCKS 2.20 14. WIDE VIEW/VARIOUS OF OIL ON WATER, BEING WASHED ONTO THE BEACH (5 SHOTS) 2.48 15. SV: PEOPLE LOOKING AT OIL-COVERED BEACH 2.52 WIDE OF BEACH 2.55 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 17th December 2002 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEMUNA AND MUXIA, GALICIA, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Reuters ID: LVA6OC4FJ8Q8IW3W7H6V85FARUKX
- Story Text: Volunteers from across Europe have begun arriving in
Spain to assist with the clean up of a massive oil spill which
has spoiled hundreds of beaches .
Belgian workers from Antwerp gathered at Namuna beach
on the Galician coast on Monday (December 2, 2002), doing their best
to scrape thousands of litres of thick, syrupy oil from the sand.
But even as they worked, the ocean waves continued to
bring more oil to the beach.
"The cleanup will have to go on for months, maybe about
eight months, because the sea will continue to bring oil onto
the beach," said Belgian team leader Jan Genen.
The first wave of oil from the initial leak has already
polluted more than 164 beaches over hundreds of km (miles) of
coastline in Galicia, devastating the local fishing industry
vital to the regional economy.
Much of another massive slick, disgorged when the Prestige
broke apart, is still undulating 16 nautical miles (30 km) off
the coast. Some has begun to be washed ashore, killing birds,
fish and dolphins ensnared in its oily grip.
The slick was once estimated at 9,000 to 11,000 tonnes of
fuel oil, but has been reduced by a fleet of clean-up ships
and is being contained by nearly 12 km (7.5 miles) of
barriers.
At sea, five specialised ships continued to suck up fuel
oil from the sea while three others unloaded 1,500 tonnes of
the spill that was gathered on Sunday (December 1), the
government said. In all, some 7,000 tonnes have been extracted
from the ocean.
On land, exhausted clean-up crews in white jump suits and
surgical masks went back to work on beaches they had scrubbed
just last week, shovelling waste that smells of petroleum and
looks like melted chocolate.
Fumes from the foul-smelling residue turned white curtains
yellow, a local resident said.
Crew raked up carpets of oil some 15 cm (six inches) thick
near seaside homes where black sludge clung to gardens.
As weary clean-up teams faced the dispiriting task of
setting to work again on beaches already cleared once of the
Prestige's legacy, locals said they feared even greater damage
from the slick still offshore.
Seafood gatherers said rocky banks that are habitats for
goose barnacle were plastered in oil, wiping out the shellfish
which is a prized local delicacy.
Spanish officials say around 60,000 tonnes of heavy fuel
oil on board when the Prestige went down will have solidified
in the frigid ocean depths. They say any sheen on the surface
above the ship is due to traces of fuel used to drive the
Prestige's engines.
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