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| Africa North |
| Oil spill brings 'catastrophe' to Egypt |
| 2010-06-22 |
| Egyptian oil spill in the Red Sea has caused a new environmental catastrophe, prompting an outcry among activists that call for tighter offshore regulations. Huge quantities of crude gushing from Egypt's offshore platforms in the Red Sea have reached the coasts of Egyptian tourist hub Hurghada, AFP reported. Hurghada attracts millions of tourists for diving and snorkeling, the report says. Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Agency (HEPCA) says the leak started about 4-5 days ago but the companies in charge, covered up the "catastrophic" incident. Officials have declined to reveal the name of the liable companies, the report said. Egypt's environment and tourism ministries state that the leak is contained and preparations have been made to clean up the pollution. HEPCA, however, criticized the government's insufficient reaction. It called for a clearer plan of action to prevent further environmental disasters. "We would also like to see more stringent standards imposed on these offshore platforms to ensure natural areas are protected," said HEPCA Managing Director Amr Ali. In recent weeks, oil spills from offshore rigs have caused severe environmental disasters across the globe. The United States is embroiled in its worst environmental disaster after BP's Deepwater Horizon collapsed, gushing about a million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. Elsewhere in Nigeria, the government has threatened to levy punitive sanctions against ExxonMobil, if the giant US oil company fails to contain the crude spills from offshore platforms in Nigeria's southeast Akwa Ibom State. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 We are going to hear about every spill of oil larger than a tablespoon for the next two years. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-06-22 01:43 |