Article presentation : Oil leakage in Tae-An and the destruction of the sealife

[Suz]

December 7th, 2007, the crash of the oil tank, "Hebey Spirit" and a floating crane of Samsung Heavy Industry has caused a disastrous leakage in the Western Sea of Korea, pouring 12,547tons of crude oil into the sea. The "Tae-Ahn" area of Chung-Nam Province used to boast prospering cultivating and tourism industry based on its unique environment of the Western Sea. Korea's western sea is one of very few areas in the world that holds a tidal mud flat, the unique shallow sea environment that provides home to many sealife.
Because of the leakage, the residents of the "Tae-Ahn" area lost their jobs; mostly based on tourism or cultivation industry. While nsatisfactory lawsuits were carried out over indemnity between Samsung Heavy Industries and the "Hebey Spirit", a total number of million volunteers have gathered in Tae-An, and manually cleaned off around 5000 tons of crude oil from the seaside.
Specialists say the process would have been easier with high-technology in the scene, such as oil-sponge ball which is able to suck in oil 4-times its original size, and even reuse the absorbed oil. There were also more relevant technologies, however most of the techonologies are on the unapplicable stage at the moment. This implies that technology is not fast enough to cover up the environmental destruction caused by the humans.

Around 100 days have passed since, and Tae-An is showing a relatively successful recovery, thanks to the grass-roots volunteerers from all over the nation, and the national concern on the area. However, Tae-An residents are to face more threats, already 57% of the residents showing symptoms of PTSD,posttrauma stress disorder, and suicides have occured because of unsatisfactory indemnity for the local residents.
As new semesters begin, less volunteers are going to Tae-An.

Furthermore, recently, a government research on Tae-An has revealed that over 50% of destruction has occured in the ecosystem; resulting in massive deaths of Crustacea, including small shrimps and shellfishes that form a big part of the lower levels of marine food chain.
According to the research carried out in 17 points in the areas affected by the leakage, the 155 sealife of 8 species was reduced to 56 of 5 species after the leakage. Also 43% of algae disappeared in the areas. The problem is even more serious because the toxic materials heavily reside under the mud beds of the area. After the leakage, the toxic concentration has rised up to 5.76 times the level before the incident.
Specialists warn that if water temperature rises and the tidal current changes, the crude oil that has been accumulated deep under the sea beds could reirritate the sea with the second pollution.

It is even more worrisome since specialists predict that it will take at least 5 years for the sealife to reappear and clear signs of recovery would not come for another 5 years, meaning there should be 10 years of agony to the Yellow Sea environment.

The Tae-An incident is a clear case that shows how destructive and disastrous damage we can cause to the environment.
A mistake can cause 10 + years of suffering of the environment, and destroy the lives of the local residents.
There are potential threats all over the world; including the nuclear plants which can cause radioactive exposure.
Preventing and getting ready for an evironmental disaster should come first, and also global cooperation to reduce the potential risks itself should take place.



http://www.tagstory.com/video/video_post.aspx?media_id=V000169862

The video shows the research being conducted under the polluted area;
you can see the dead sealife and floating tars in the water.
Also, rock beds are covered with oil.