Patcharapol Panrak
Rayong officials plan to rebuild Koh Samet’s oil-stained beaches
with new sand as authorities try to gauge how much of last month’s petroleum
spill have affected marine life.
Phrao Bay beaches are starting to look normal again being blackened by more
than 5,000 liters of oil that washed ashore from a 50,000-liter spill at a
PTT Global Chemical Plc transfer pipe 18 miles off Rayong’s Maptaput
Industrial Estate July 27. Non-stop work by PTT employees, Royal Thai Navy
personnel and volunteers has removed nearly all the oil from the beach and
Sarawuth Wannaprasert, assistant manager for the Ao Phrao Resorts, said the
water is clearer, although authorities continue to test.
Pornthep Siriwanarangsan, director-general of the Disease
Control Department, told the media Aug. 11 that the department had collected
air samples from the area to monitor concentrations of benzene vapor and
effects on human health every day since the leak. He said the latest tests
showed air quality has now returned to “normal.”
While PTTGC hauled away much of the tainted sand a week ago, the oil had
seeped deep into the beachhead. On Aug. 6, Maptaput’s “Friend to Friend”
group and Koh Samet authorities began digging up and overturning sand,
hauling away the badly soaked and using sieves to clean what could be saved.
The work continued through Aug. 10, when the island hosted a “big cleanup
day” to regain tourist confidence, with residents, tourists and volunteers
wiping down rocks, washing plants and showing off the progress to 25
prominent travel agents and the media.
Natural Resources and the Environment Minister Vichet Kasemthongsri was on
hand for the 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. event, presiding over religious rites
beforehand to seek blessings and apologize to spirits at the island’s
Laungpu Dam and Chaomae Tabtim shrines. He then grabbed towels and joined
are volunteers and students from local neighborhoods, agencies and
organizations to get the beach ready to reopen.
Once environmental officials decide the cleaning effort
has reached its limit, Koh Samet authorities plan to bring in boats to spray
the Phrao Bay beaches with new sand, hoping the rebuilt shoreline will bring
back tourists that fled in droves after the spill.
About 300 souvenir vendors at Nuanthip Pier in Phe, on the mainland, rallied
to alert the government to the tourist problem. They urged Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra to visit the pier market and Koh Samet to hear their
complaints and help bring tourists back.
While the beaches are looking healthier, the same cannot be said of the
marine life under the sea.
Marine and Coastal Resources Department Director-General Noppon Srisuk said
agency tests found that some marine life had been reduced by up to 20
percent and that some coral reefs in the oil slick-affected bay have been
killed off by bleaching.
Divers examined reefs and sea beds down to four meters at Noi Na, Laem Ya,
Ao Lung Dam, Ao Kew Nha Nok, Ao Phai, Ao Look Yon, Koh Kudee, Koh Kham -
Kruai, Koh Pla Teen, and the northern area of Ao Phrao. Preliminary results
showed most of the intertidal zone had been tainted by oil with 10-20
percent of the marine life in Phrao Bay killed, especially stone crabs,
snails, and oysters.
Several colonies of coral south of spill also were found bleached, Noppon
said, acknowledging that other causes could be responsible for the coral
death.
Five Phuket-based marine biologists also examined the
area, coming up with similar findings, although they admitted the damage was
less than they feared.
“We did not find any remains or evidence of endangered species being washed
ashore, even a week after the oil spill,” Phuket Marine Biological Center
Director Ukkrit Satapoomin told the media.
Nonetheless, Noppon said Marine and Coastal Resources Department plans to
sue PTT Global Chemical within a year after completely assessing the damage
caused by the spill.
The company said the spill occurred when a floating pipe used to transfer
oil from offshore tankers to its Maptaput refinery broke. The Energy
Ministry launched its own investigation, including whether negligence was
involved, and planned to announce its findings Aug. 14, after press time.
Hoping to head off even more legal action, PTTGC has already begun paying
off local residents and fishermen. On Aug. 10 the company presented 400
fishermen with 30,000 baht each.
Deputy Premier Plodprasop Suraswadi, however, has called on the company to
establish a fund to pay future compensation, as well as promote
environmentalism and tourism on Koh Samet.
