South Korea in emergency survey of oil spill damage: officials

Yahoo News 18 Dec 07;

South Korea's government will conduct an emergency survey of ecological systems on the west coast after parts were hit by the country's worst oil spill, officials said Tuesday.

The survey will be conducted soon, an environment ministry spokesman said, as concerns rose over marine life after dead porpoises started washing up on shore.

Experts from the environment ministry and the ministry of maritime affairs and fisheries will assess the damage after a tanker was holed by a drifting barge on December 7, spilling 10,500 tons of crude oil off Taean county.

Environmentalists say it may be decades before the coastline can full recover, despite the efforts of 40,000 people and hundreds of ships still battling the spill on Tuesday.

"We will make haste to get the results of our joint probe by the end of this year," the spokesman told AFP, adding the government would set up a long-term recovery plan based on the study.

A finless porpoise was found dead in Taean on Monday, with its body covered in oil. Animal rescuers and villagers have since retrieved six more bodies.

Ministry officials said experts would conduct autopsies to determine the cause of the deaths.

Much of the oil which coated beaches in Taean was being removed by tens of thousands of volunteers, police and troops.

But clumps of tar and slicks were spotted up to 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of the spill in the Yellow Sea, Coast Guard officials said.

The Coast Guard said it had set up more booms at the mouth of Cheonsu Bay, south of Taean, to protect the habitat for migratory birds.

Navy ships are also battling to disperse the oil near a group of islands, famous for rich fishing grounds, off Gunsan.

The damaged tanker was taken to a port in Taean Tuesday. It will be moved to Hong Kong after unloading the remaining oil aboard.

The government has promised to provide 30 billion won (32 million dollars) in emergency aid to residents of the disaster-hit area by the end of next month.

Separately, it has offered up to 300 billion won in emergency funds to support small businesses and marine farmers.

The European Union, the United Nations and Japan have despatched 1environmental experts to assist the cleanup. Aid has also come from Singapore, China and the United States.