Environmental damage adds to Lebanon's misery

Lebanon is facing a major environmental crisis after Israeli air strikes on the Jiyeh power station, about 12 miles south of Beirut, caused 15,000 tons of oil to spill into the Mediterranean Sea. The air strikes on July 13 and July 15 hit the power station's fuel tanks and the leaking oil was pushed north by winds. A thick sludge now coats as much as 50 miles of the 124-mile Lebanese coastline. "We are really talking about an environmental massacre here," said Edgard Chehab, head of the UN Development Program unit for energy and the environment. "This is affecting algae, rocky and sandy beaches, as well as aquatic life," he said. Because of the thickness of the oil, "oxygen cannot enter the water and the life chain of aquatic vegetation that fish eat to survive will die." Lebanon's coast is an important nesting ground for the green sea turtle, an endangered species, as well as a spawning ground for some Mediterranean fish. Turtle eggs begin hatching in July, but with the oil slick coating most of the area, baby turtles will have a far smaller chance of making it to deeper waters and surviving. The oil slick is also threatening bluefin tuna that migrate to the eastern Mediterranean this time of year. The oil spill will have a serious long-term impact on the fishing and tourism industries which already have been hit hard by the conflict. Chehab told reporters: "Fishermen who make their daily living off this sector are doomed." Hafez, a Palestinian fisherman in Lebanon told reporters: "If we tried to fish, the Israelis would kill us. But nobody would eat the fish anyway even if we could fish. Now we wait for a miracle, something to take this oil away and stop this war." Emergency teams at the Jiyah plant are allowing oil at the power station to burn, sending up towering plumes of black smoke, in an effort to prevent further spills into the sea. The smoke has polluted the air over Beirut and its suburbs. Maher Ali, a fisherman, said: "When the winds blow north, it's bearable, but when it blows east, it's deadly. The soot lands on the food and furniture and makes everything dirty. You just can't leave a glass of water sitting around. It's no wonder most families have given up and left." The Lebanese Environment Ministry sent crews to various parts of the country this week to assess the damage and begin the cleanup, but the oil slick has quickly proven beyond the government's limited capacity to deal with the problem. "This is a catastrophe of the highest order for a country as small as Lebanon," said Berge Hatjian, director general of the Environment Ministry, who has visited the scene to oversee emergency steps. The Ministry estimates the cleanup alone will cost upwards of $200 million, a major sum in a country with a gross domestic product of around $21 billion, but experts warn the bill could run even higher.