Kuwait battles oil spill in the Persian Gulf
The northern Persian Gulf has been hit with a series of major oil spills, affecting Kuwait and Saudi Arabia with an estimated 35,000 barrels of crude in the first incident and an undetermined amount in the second, which followed two days later.. Already the beaches of Ras Al Zour, where Kuwait is building a massive US$30 billion (Dh110.2bn) oil complex that includes a 615,000-barrel-per-day refinery, are being tarred, and residents are being asked to stay away for the contaminated shoreline and waters.
The second spill reached 1.6 kilometers in length at press time, and measures have been taken to stop the leakage and limit environmental damage, according to the Gulf nation’s Environment Public Authority.
The Ras al-Zour area is also home to two power and water desalination plants.
Boats and crews have been putting booms into the water to try and contain the spill. Officials want to protect waterways, power plants and water facilities first, then clean surrounding beaches, according to a report on the state-run KUNA news agency.
"There will be severe consequences to those responsible for this incident, and we will prosecute them," Sheikh Abdullah al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family who is head of the Environment Public Authority.
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Oil Spill Response
Oil Spill Eater II clean up plan has been delivered to officials in Kuwait, OSE II is already approved by MEMAC ROPME, and has been used in the Persian/Arabian gulf for years off of offshore platforms. OSE II is a first response bioremediation product that is safe for humans, non toxic to marine species, causes oil to remain on the surface, preventing the spill from contaminating secondary areas such as the water column where 60% of marine species, live, while OSE II permanently removes spills from the environment by converting them to safe end point of CO2 and water, with no secondary clean up problems. OSE II has been tested by the UK government, as well as Environment Canada, with the Australian government required Eco Toxicity tests, showing OSE II is safe for open water, near shore, and shoreline use it is so non toxic to the environment. OSE II utilizes natures own process, accept OSE II speeds up the process to remove oil from the environment in a few weeks instead of decades. OSE II is currently used in 101 countries and has been used on over 36,000 spills since 1989.