美國海岸巡邏隊13日表示,根據舊金山海灣與鄰近海岸線的最新空中監測的結果,7日舊金山海灣高達5萬8000加侖溢漏的燃油,只有少部分可回收。為了將溢漏的燃油集中,截至目前為止已架設了全長7英哩的攔油柵,並派出6艘船隻負責聚集浮油。
海岸巡邏隊表示,目前已回收1萬2745加侖的燃油,大約有580加侖自然消散,估計有4060加侖已揮發至空氣中。約剩下4萬加侖燃油仍存在我們的環境裡。
環保團體「地球之友」藉由目前社會大眾對於漏油事件的關注呼籲美國國會,根據專家的預測,這些溢漏的燃油在往後幾年內仍將繼續存留在舊金山海灣,因此需把這些大量的、如同瀝青般的燃油完全清除。
地球之友表示,「這些溢漏的燃油是原油提煉過後的沉澱物,對環境造成高度汙染,其髒汙的程度比卡車和巴士所使用的柴油高上1000倍。此種用於許多郵輪與貨輪的燃料油,不僅汙染空氣、威脅人類健康,也導致全球暖化。這次的舊金山海灣漏油事件同時也顯示,此類燃油也危及海洋生態。」
The latest overflight of San Francisco Bay and the nearby coastline shows very little recoverable oil offshore and inshore from last Wednesday's spill of 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel, the U.S. Coast Guard said today.
To date, seven miles of containment boom has been deployed to confine and collect oil in the water and six vessels are skimming and collecting oil.
The Coast Guard says 12,745 gallons of oil have been collected and about 580 gallons have dispersed naturally. An estimated 4,060 gallons of oil have evaporated. That leaves about 40,000 gallons of the heavy bunker fuel in the environment.
Friends of the Earth is using the public attention focused on this spill of bunker fuel to call on Congress to require a complete phaseout of the heavy, asphalt-like substance that some experts predict will remain in the bay for many years.
"The dirty fuel that was spilled literally comes from the bottom of the barrel when oil is refined and is more than 1,000 times dirtier than the diesel fuel used in trucks and buses," the environmental group says. "This bunker fuel - which powers many cruise and cargo ships - pollutes the air, threatens human health, and causes global warming. And, as the accident in the San Francisco Bay demonstrates, this fuel also endangers marine life."
全文及圖片詳見:ENS