WA: Greens call for spill inquiry as clean-up continues

AAP General News (Australia)
08-24-2009
WA: Greens call for spill inquiry as clean-up continues

By Andrea Hayward and Aleisha Preedy

PERTH, Aug 24 AAP - The Greens have called for a judicial inquiry into an oil spill
in the Timor Sea as a multi-million dollar clean-up and containment effort continues.

Greens leader Bob Brown said a judicial inquiry into the spill should be established
to prevent another one in the future.

"Already there are fears that the chemical dispersants being used could have their
own toxic effect on the area," Senator Brown said.

"A judicial inquiry would get to the bottom of any concerns with how the oil rig was
being operated and how the early stages of the clean-up were undertaken."

An offshore drilling unit bound for the Timor Sea, where an oil rig is leaking oil
and gas, will leave Singapore on Tuesday to stem the flow at the site, project operator
PTTEP Australasia said.

The drilling unit would take 20 days to be towed to PTTEP's West Atlas rig, to the
northwest of Western Australia.

A mixture of oil and gas has been seeping into the Timor Sea from the West Atlas drilling
rig since Friday.

A clean-up at the Montara development, about 250km off the Kimberley coast and 150km
south-east of the Ashmore Reef, continued on Tuesday, where dispersants have been aerially
applied.

PTTEP, the Thai company that contracted the rig, has said it would take at least seven
weeks to stop the leak.

The company said the mobile offshore rig from Singapore would drill a hole into the
leaking oil well, pump mud into the hole and alleviate pressure to stop its flow.

"Work commenced yesterday (Sunday) to prepare the rig for towing to within approximately
2km from West Atlas," PTTEP said in a statement on Monday.

The company said it would continue to evaluate alternatives to stem the flow from the rig.

The Australian Maritime and Safety Authority said the oil slick was responding well
to dispersants sprayed over the area by Hercules aircraft.

Federal Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese said the multi-million dollar clean-up
cost was not a concern to the government.

"The company has agreed with the government that they will take responsibility for
the cost of the clean-up. That is as it should be," Mr Albanese told reporters in Sydney.

"Certainly at this stage it would be premature to put a final cost but we know that
it will be many millions of dollars."

WA Premier Colin Barnett said the state government would assist in the containment
and clean-up of the spill if needed.

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the spill needed to be monitored very closely.

"We have been a little bit lucky to have calm weather off the coast of Western Australia,"

Mr Garrett told reporters in Townsville.

"That has meant that there has been access to and monitoring by officials and also
that the aircraft that are spraying the dispersants down have been able to get access
to the slick."

Curtin University associate professor of aqua toxicology Monique Gagnon said the impact
on fish stocks at the site would be limited and short term.

"They (the oils) have been there throughout evolution and animals have learned to deal
with this type of compound," Ms Gagnon said.

"Fish for example, there has been natural seepage from the ocean floor forever on the
planet and fish have evolved a mechanism to eliminate this sort of compound out of their
body."

WWF Australia's conservation manager Gilly Llewellyn said the spill was a disaster
for turtles, whales, dolphins, sea birds and snakes.

"Depending on winds, the slick could be pushed to atolls like Scott and Ashmore Reef
- areas that are globally significant for their unique wildlife," Dr Llewellyn said.

The spill occurred at the edge of Australia's continental shelf which was an ocean
highway for loggerhead turtles, dolphins and endangered species such as the pygmy blue
whale.

AAP ah/ht/mn

KEYWORD: SPILL WRAP

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