Ennore oil spill: Activist condemns TN govt for engaging fishermen in cleanup without protection
He noted that CPCL has the responsibility of ensuring the usage of the PPEs while the government has the responsibility of ensuring the company doing it right.
Fishermen cleaning the oil-covered boats (Photo credit: Hemanathan M)
CHENNAI: Environmental activists hit out at the state government for engaging fishermen for clean up of oil pollution in Ennore using "bathroom mugs" in bare hands without any protective gear.
Activist Nityanand Jayaraman said when two ships collided off Ennore port spilling bunker oil in January 2017, buckets were used for cleanup. The aftermath of the December 4 floods due to cyclone Michaung oil spillage has happened from the premises of the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL) at Manali into the Buckingham Canal reaching Ennore Creek.
"2017 buckets! 2023 bathroom mugs! It's not okay to expose fishers who are victims of CPCL oil pollution to more toxins in the name of cleanup. Is this an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) ? @CMOTamilnadu Please insist on PPEs/training for those engaged in spill response. No training. No safety. No dignity, " he wrote in a microblogging site "X".
Pointing out that petroleum waste is highly toxic he said that as per the Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, potent neurotoxins - benzene, toluene, and xylene - will enter the body via breathing. It can cause peripheral neuropathy and even death, he noted.
"Inhalation and skin contact are primary routes of exposure. No respiratory protection was given. Unlikely that blood levels of hydrocarbons are monitored before and after work shifts. This is unacceptable. Disaster response itself cannot become a disaster. This fisher is poisoning himself -- hands are covered in oil; inhalation exposure, " Jayaraman wrote.
He noted that CPCL has the responsibility of ensuring the usage of the PPEs while the government has the responsibility of ensuring the company doing it right.
Meanwhile, the state government said that it has started mitigation work by deployment of essential men and machinery. "Three gully sucker machines have been deployed in the Ennore Creek area to remove the floating oil which will be safely disposed at the designated location at Gummudipoondi which is licensed for storing hazardous waste. Some more gully sucker machines are being deployed to fasten the process. Oil-controlling booms have also been deployed to contain the floating oil at some locations, " Supriya Sahu, additional chief secretary, of the environment, climate change and forests department said in a statement.
She added that specialised oil cleaning agencies have been mobilized with the necessary equipment to remove oil debris from affected areas. The department has set up a coordination centre at Nattukuppam village to coordinate mitigation activities. It also did a rapid assessment of Biodiversity loss in the region.
NGT directs TNPCB to clean up the oil spill from the Ennore Creek area at the earliest
The National Green Tribunal has directed the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to ensure the speedy removal of the oil spill from the Ennore Creek area.
While hearing a suo motu case about the issue, Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati of the Southern bench also asked the Fisheries Department when could fishers resume their work and how could they be compensated. After the intervention of the NGT, the technical committee set up by the government held the CPCL at Manali responsible for the oil spillage into the Ennore Creek area.
