PTTGC admits chemicals risk environmental harm
Bangkok Post 31 Jul 13;
Experts are worried the chemical dispersants being used in the oil spill clean-up operation in Rayong province could cause environmental damage.
They have urged PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) to reveal what type of dispersants are being used.
Their call came after Pollution Control Department chief Wichian Jungrungreon admitted yesterday that using dispersants could harm the environment.
PTTGC has remained silent about what chemicals it is using but also said they could pose a hazard to the environment and people's health.
"There is no option," Mr Wichian said. "The massive oil spill and windy conditions prevent us from using booms to contain the spill.
"Dispersants are the last resort in this situation."
Lack of information about the chemicals has prompted experts to pressure authorities and PTTGC to provide more details.
"It's important to know what chemicals they are and how much is being used so we can decide on measures to prevent possible negative impacts," Arpa Wangkiat, a professor at Rangsit University's environmental engineering department, said.
"Don't leave questions to society. Disaster management should not be left in the hands of one participant."
Ms Arpa said her studies have found the use of dispersants can result in environmental damage and health problems.
Environmental activists suspect PTTGC might be using Corexit to tackle the Rayong oil slick because it is commonly used worldwide.
In 2012, a study found that Corexit increases the toxicity of oil by 52 times. It can remain in the ecological food chain for many years and cause widespread and long-lasting health impacts.
"The use of dispersants is a solution that creates new and worse problems," Ms Arpa said.
The main ingredients of Corexit include 2-Butoxyethanol which can comprise up to 60% of the dispersant and is known to harm the blood, kidneys, liver and central nervous system.
Experts say the substance can also cause cancer, birth defects and has been found to cause genetic mutations.
It is also a delayed chronic health hazard as well as an environmentally hazardous material.
Pornsri Mingkwan, director of the Pollution Control Department's marine environment division, said PTTGC has sought permission to use 32,000 litres of a dispersant called Slickgone NS since the spill occurred on Saturday.
However, the dispersant is ineffective in tackling oil slicks more than 48 hours after a spill occurs, she said.
Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a leading marine biologist at Kasetsart University, wrote on his Facebook page that the use of dispersants should be avoided in seas where the water is about 20m deep or less.
This was because dispersed oil could come into contact with the sea bed and caused negative effects on benthic organisms that live there, he wrote.
He called on the authorities to check the depth of the sea off Rayong.
He also urged authorities to clarify which agency had allowed the use of dispersants on Sunday.
Pisut Painmanakul, also of Chulalongkorn University's environmental engineering department, said the Rayong oil spill could lead to a similar problem which occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 when Corexit was primarily used to deal with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Officials took three months to deal with the oil slick there but scientists have said the toxic chemical remains in the ecological system.
Samai Kungsaworn, director of the Office of Diseases Prevention Control 3 which oversees Rayong, said local health units have reported four patients complaining of dizziness since the oil spill on Saturday.
The cases could possibly be linked to the oil's pungent smell in the area, he said.
He has advised locals to stay away from the shore because the smell could cause respiratory problems.
PCD says PTTGC used excessive amounts of dispersant
Bangkok Post 1 Aug 13;
The Pollution Control Department says PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC) used excessive amounts of dispersant in its attempt to clean-up the Samet oil slick.
Pollution Control Department chief Wichian Jungrungreon told the Bangkok Post yesterday that his agency gave permission for the firm to use only 5,000 litres of the dispersants _ Slickgone NS Type II/III.
Mr Wichian said PTTGC had asked for permission to use 25,000 litres of the dispersant on Sunday but the amount was restricted to only 5,000 litres.
He said the approved amount was linked to the firm's claim that about 50,000 litres of crude oil had leaked from the broken pipeline. The appropriate dispersant to oil ratio is 1:10.
The department chief also admitted the dispersant may have contaminated the sea bed and affected benthic organisms that live there as the sea is only 20 metres deep in that location.
"The situation was critical at the time," Mr Wichian said. "The dispersant was permitted because of the crisis."
Nattachat Charuchinda, chief operating officer of the downstream petroleum business at the parent firm PTT Plc, later admitted the company used 35,000 litres of the Slickgone dispersant in the clean-up process.
Sirichai Thammanit, an expert at Chulalongkorn University's Marine Science department said the lack of information about the dispersant is disturbing.
"With contradicting information about the dispersant volume, does it mean that there was more oil or that the dispersant was not effective?"
He said the dispersant must be used in an appropriate ratio to be effective.
Underuse of the dispersant would fail to break down the oil into droplets.
Overuse would decrease efficiency in managing the oil spill, he said.
Somporn Chuai-aree, from Prince Songkla University's Computer Science department, Pattani campus, said the spill volume could exceed 50,000 litres.
Based on a Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency map and calculations, the volume of oil that leaked into the sea could be 108,600 to 191,500 litres. "We need facts," said Pahol Kosiyachinda, a biologist at Mahidol University. "Dispersants will not eliminate the oil. They just convert the oil to a different form which is still harmful to the environment."
Mr Pahol urged PTTCG to provide facts about the volume of oil and type of dispersant used.
The information will help officials to establish the extent of damage and compensation for affected parties, he said.
Arpa Wangkiat, a professor at Rangsit University's Environmental Engineering department, said inaccuracy of the oil spill volume would lead to mistakes in evaluating its impact.
Thai oil spill having "extreme" impact on tourism - minister
Related Video: Thailand hit by fourth largest oil spill in its history
Amy Sawitta Lefevre Reuters 30 Jul 13;
BANGKOK | Tue Jul 30, 2013 11:07am EDT
(Reuters) - An oil spill that has blackened beaches at a Thai holiday island was having an extreme impact on tourism and could spread to the coast of the mainland and affect the fishing industry, officials and an environmental group said on Tuesday.
Tourists were pouring off the island of Koh Samet, 230 km (142 miles) southeast of Bangkok, while soldiers and volunteers in white bio-hazard suits struggled to clear black oily sludge off the white sand.
"We're working to move visitors to other locations if they want to move," Tourism Minister Somsak Phurisisak told reporters.
"I'm very concerned, I didn't think this spill would impact tourism in such an extreme way."
About 50,000 liters of crude oil poured into the Gulf of Thailand from a pipeline on Saturday, about 20 km (12 miles) off the coast, the fourth major oil spill in Thai history.
The pipeline operator, PTT Global Chemical, apologized and said the leak had been plugged. The clean-up operation would take another two to three days, it said.
Worst hit was the beach at Ao Prao, or Coconut Bay, but tourists elsewhere on the island were getting out.
"We're staying on another beach but we're not taking any chances. We are checking out," Daria Volkov, a tourist from Moscow, told Reuters.
Koh Samet, known for its beaches and clear, warm sea, is thronged by domestic and foreign tourists, thanks to its proximity to Bangkok.
"Tourists are leaving, some have cancelled their bookings," said Chairat Trirattanajarasporn, chairman of the provincial tourist association.
"Samet is popular with Russian and Chinese tourists but they won't stay long if this mess isn't cleaned up."
Pakdihan Himathongkam, a government spokesman, said aircraft were releasing chemical dispersants over the 1 km (half a mile) long oil slick, while Ao Prao beach was closed to the public.
"Our worry is that it could reach the mainland," Pakdihan said.
Environmental groups raised questions about the true extent of the disaster.
"What has happened is far more serious than what PTT said on the first day. We can expect an impact on fisheries and from chemical contamination in the food chain," Ply Pirom, programme manager at Greenpeace Southeast Asia, told Reuters.
PTT Global Chemical Pcl is part of state-controlled PTT Pcl, Thailand's biggest energy firm.
Another subsidiary, PTT Exploration and Production Pcl, was involved in Australia's worst offshore drilling accident in 2009, when thousands of gallons of crude oil spewed into the sea after a damaged oil well blew up.
The slick from the Montara oil field off Australia's northwest coast spread as far as Indonesian waters. An Australian government inquiry blamed the spill on systemic shortcomings at the Thai oil giant.
(Additional reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak and Athit Perawongmetha; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Thai firm understating oil slick fallout: Greenpeace
Apilaporn Vechaku (AFP) Google News 31 Jul 13;
KO SAMET, Thailand — Environmentalists accused a Thai energy firm on Tuesday of understating the extent of a major pipeline leak as the navy warned the oil slick might reach the mainland.
Tourists were leaving the resort island of Ko Samet in the Gulf of Thailand as workers in protective suits used hoses, buckets and shovels to clean up blackened sand and oil which washed ashore on a once-idyllic beach.
PTT Global Chemical said it was close to removing the oil from Ao Phrao beach on the island, which lies in the protected Khao Laem Ya National Park off the eastern province of Rayong.
"The clean-up operation is 80 percent complete," said PTT Global Chemical executive vice president Porntep Butniphant, who was overseeing the operation.
"We expect by tomorrow (Wednesday) everything at Ao Phrao will be back to normal," he told AFP.
Conservationist group Greenpeace, however, said much more work needed to be done.
"It's not true to claim that 80 percent of the work is done. There is a lot of oil still in the bay," Greenpeace campaigner Ply Pirom said.
"It's very disappointing that this global company has no emergency plan to deal with the crisis."
A naval commander said there was a risk the oil would wash ashore on the mainland.
"A thin film of oil may reach the mainland. It has started to go towards there," Vice Admiral Roongsak Sereeswad told AFP, adding: "It might take a week to control it."
The government said 600 workers, including military personnel and PTT staff, were engaged in the clean-up.
Some visitors have cut short their holidays on Ko Samet, a popular destination for weekend breaks for Bangkok residents.
"About 30 percent of the tourists have left the island", Chairat Trirattanajarasporn, president of the Rayong Tourist Association, told AFP.
"There are no tourists coming in any more, only people leaving. Some groups already cancelled bookings. Some are scared and started to leave," Chairat added.
According to the pipeline operator -- which is part of state-owned giant PTT -- 50,000 litres of oil gushed into the sea on Saturday about 20 kilometres (12 miles) off the coast. Some environmentalists fear the leak might have been even bigger.
PTT said the spillage came as crude oil from an Omani tanker moored offshore was being transferred to the pipeline for delivery to its refinery.
Greenpeace on Monday urged Thailand to end oil drilling and exploration in the Gulf of Thailand in light of the leak.
Conservationists have voiced concern about the impact on marine life of the oil as well as the chemicals used to disperse the spill in an area frequented by fishermen.
"The effects on the coastal area ecology will be quite big," Ratana Munprasit, director of the Eastern Marine Fisheries Research and Development Center, told AFP.
"It's like a feeding ground for fish where they lay eggs and there are baby fish, shellfish and plankton," Ratana said, adding that the food chain and corals would be affected in the long term.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is on an official trip to Africa, ordered the navy and various ministries quickly to solve the problem.
She also said PTT must bear responsibility for the spill.
One Bangkok tour operator launched an appeal for people to donate hair to make a boom to absorb the oil.
"An oil expert said hair can absorb spilled oil so we will collect hair to make a hair sausage," Thammtorn Junprasert said.
"I'm now contacting hotels for donation of old pillows stuffed with duck feathers," he added.
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