Oil clean-up draws many helping hands

Oil clean-up draws many helping hands

Navy, PTTGC volunteers pitching in

Mathurin Tianprapakun, a 29-year-old safety engineer at PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC), has temporarily left her job at the petrochemical plant to collect oil-drenched sand in plastic bags at Ao Phrao beach on Koh Samet.

Girls enjoy the beach at Ao Wong Duan near the oil spill-tainted Ao Phrao on Koh Samet yesterday. Ao Wong Duan, on the opposite side of the island, has been spared any damage from the oil slick which authorities have been battling to contain off Rayong. THITI WANNAMONTHA

She is among 200 staff volunteers from the company who have joined naval personnel and staff from several authorities in cleaning up the beach affected by an oil slick which leaked from a PTTGC pipeline.

The engineer said she was confident her favourite beach will be back to normal quickly thanks to strong cooperation from the various agencies. "I'm doing this job [the beach cleaning] to take responsibility for mistakes made by the firm," she said.

About 300 metres away, Seaman Daranphob Bhosue, 21, bedecked in a plastic suit, rubber gloves and a mask, has laid aside his rifle for now to ladle oil from the sea into temporary containers at the beach. He is among a group of 60 naval seamen doing the same job.

He said the smell of the crude oil makes him feel queasy. This is the first time he had been faced with such a challenging task.

The 500-metre beach was packed with hundreds of workers cleaning the sand and rocks yesterday, after the slick hit the beach on Sunday.

Some fish and crabs were found dead on the beach. The sea water looked much lighter than earlier in the week but it still felt oily and sticky.

Meanwhile, a truck was sent to pump crude oil collected in temporary containers in Map Tha Phut industrial estate. About 12 high-pressure water jet machines were set up to clean rocks on the beach. Eleven ships were used to spray dispersant.

About 300 naval personnel from the Sattahip naval base in Chon Buri province are deployed daily to clean the beach. A navy source said it remained uncertain whether PTTGC would shoulder responsibility for the health hazards that the sailors and the volunteers have faced during the operation.

Just hours after the leak, PTTGC sought help from the 1st Naval Area Command, navy deputy spokesman Wiphan Chamachote said. They conducted a survey from the air and found the slick had spread 3km long and 1km wide.

He said a ship was deployed to immediately spray two tonnes of dispersants and on the first day of the spill, 65% of the oil was dispersed. On Sunday, a further 30% of the oil spill had gone and only 5% remained. "The navy will keep its personnel in place until the situation at Ao Phrao returns to normal," the deputy navy spokesman said.

PTTGC president Bowon Vongsinudom conceded it might take more than one year to repair the ecological damage even though the beach clean-up would be completed in 30 days.

"We have worked around the clock," he said. "All measures put in place follow international practice. And all chemicals used have been recommended by global oil firms and with the permission from the Department of Pollution Control. We will be here until all traces of the oil have disappeared."

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