Oil spills off the coast of Rayong were among the issues featured during the non-voting general debate in Parliament on Friday (18 Feb). The opposition alleged that efforts were made to hide information on the spills, with the environment minister denying the allegation.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Warawut Silpa-archa said the spill on January 25 occurred at 10 PM and the leakage stopped shortly after midnight. He explained that it is very dark out at sea at night and so the location of oil patches could not be immediately determined. Oil booms also could not be rapidly deployed, and so the quickest way to address the spill was to apply dispersants. He added that the oil patches might have all made it to shore if dispersants had not been used before morning.
On the matter of the precise quantity of oil spilled, Warawut said the most accurate answer would come from the company responsible for the pipeline. Although an investigation into the cause of the spill and the amount of oil involved is still ongoing, the company reported that 50,000 liters were spilled. Warawut also revealed that the dispersant used in response operations was from the same brand used in 2013. However, he noted that the agent has since been improved to a level that is considered more biodegradable and capable of breaking down oil more effectively.
The minister explained that microbes will gradually eat away at the mixture of crude oil and dispersant, with the toxicity eventually receding. He also said the amount of dispersant used took into account nighttime circumstances and insisted there was no reason to hide figures for the amount of oil leaked.(NNT)
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