The Peruvian government declared this Thursday (26) an environmental emergency in a northern coastal area, where the state company Petroperu spilled a shipment of oil into the waters of the Pacific Ocean last weekend.
A ship carrying out pre-boarding maneuvers caused the spill on Saturday (21) at a terminal at the Peruvian Talara refinery, in northern Peru.
Petroperu did not say how much oil was spilled into the sea, but Peruvian environmental body OEFA said in a preliminary report that the spill affected about 10,000 square meters of seawater surface, and the Environment Ministry said it affected at least at least seven beaches, as well as local wildlife.
Peru’s Environment Ministry said the 90-day emergency aims to “guarantee the sustainable management of the area and the execution of recovery and remediation work to mitigate environmental contamination.”
Petroperu said on Wednesday (25) that it had sent cleaning brigades since the time of the spill and coordinated with the fishermen’s union and local authorities so that local economic and tourist activities could continue normally.
Petroperu said in a statement that it maintains cleaning staff, boats and drones in the affected area to “carry out preventative monitoring to ensure early detection of any eventuality.”
Local authorities said the spill damaged coastal plants and animals such as crabs, while fishermen say the spill prevented them from working.
“We haven’t been able to go out for six days,” fisherman Martin Pasos told local radio. “What happened in Lobitos is chaos. So far, we have not received any response from the oil company.”
This content was originally published in Peru declares environmental emergency after oil spill on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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