“A lot of oil is still on the beach, but all oil spill cleanup operations have stopped due to lack of funding. The last organization doing cleanup is “Bahr Loubnan” NGO that was cleaning rocks from oil near Jiyeh using high pressure water jets. A lot of oil can still be found on shore all along the coast in Jiyeh, Beirut, Tabarja, Jbeil and Anfeh. The Ministry of Environment has issued a call for the second phase of cleanup and is looking for funding.

The Most urgent issue is the collected oil from the cleanup operations that are still on shore. This oil, which is gathered in bags, plastic drums and piles, still poses a lot of threat for public and marine environment. Some of this oil is exposed and children can easily access them. Some of the oil has already seeped back into the environment due to improper storage. All this collected oil needs to be transported immediately to the safe temporary storage areas that have been identified by the Ministry of Environment. This operation does not require a lot of fund and must be done before oil the oil seeps back into the sea.

The second most urgent issue is an awareness campaign for the Lebanese public to make them aware of the situation, and what to do if they encounter oil contamination on the beach.”

1. Oil is reappearing on the coast
The NGO Bahr Loubnan has finished the 3rd cleaning of Ramlet El Beida last week. Although Ramlet El Beida public beach has been cleaned several times before, oil is constantly appearing on it. The layers of oil that were hidden under the sand or in the sea bed are being uncovered when ever there is a strong sea or a rain storm. This is not happening only in Ramlet El Beida but also in other areas such as Jbeil. On the sandy coast of Edde sand hundreds oil pebbles have appeared (sea Feb07 pictures). This area was supposedly cleaned by USAID. Therefore, constant monitoring is required of the entire coastline. This task is being periodically conducted by the Oil Spill Working Group in IndyAct.
2. All collected Oil is still on shore
All the oil collected during the past 7 months is still a major health hazard and can seep back into the sea. Usually, the minute the oil is collected from shore it should immediately be transported into a safe storage area. Unfortunately, in our case all the oil collected so far is still lying in corners close to the beach, where public can access them. We were able to document cases where children are playing next to the collected oil and cases where part of the oil is seeping back into the environment (see Feb07 pictures). The Ministry of Environment informed us that now they started the operation of removing the collected oil from the coast into a temporary storage place near Beirut. Nevertheless, the operation is 7 months late and some of the cleanup efforts have been in vain.
3. Communication between Israel and Rick Steiner
Professor Rick Steiner, who has been in Lebanon to assess the impact of the oil spill and to help organize cleanup operations, has requested a 1 billion dollar compensation fund from Israel to establish an oil spill response program for the Eastern Mediterranean. Read all the letters between Rick, Israel and the United States on our website.

Attached is a letter from the Ministry of Justice in IsraelIt was sent to Professor Rick Steiner in response to the letter he sent last August. Also below are Rick’s comments on the Israeli letter, as well as, Rick’s first letter sent in August.

TO: Mr. Boaz Oren, Adv., Deputy Director
      Israel Ministry of Justice

FR: Richard Steiner, Professor, University of Alaska USA

RE: your 6/12/06 letter

Dear Mr. Oren – Thank you very much for your letter of 6/12/06 (which I just now received) in response to my 29/8/06 letter to Prime Minister Olmert regarding the Eastern Mediterranean Oil Spill caused by Israeli air strikes during last summer’s war. I truly appreciate the difficulties all endured last summer.

I had hoped to meet with your Ministry while I was in Israel in November to brief your government on the spill and potential constructive resolutions from here forward, but only representatives of your Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Environment were available to meet with me at that time. I enjoyed briefing them on the spill. I want to assure you that I engage this issue with a genuine intent to help resolve it, and to help find a constructive way forward. Again, I do not wish to ‘take sides’ in the conflict.

Also, I truly appreciate your clarification of the basis for the air strikes on the Jiyeh power station last July. As you may recall, a Reuters news story on September 21, 2006 quoted your Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mr. Mark Regev) as saying:

“It’s not clear that Israel was directly responsible for the oil slick. We certainly did not intentionally attack the oil containers.”

This did not seem a plausible or defensible explanation to most observers, including myself, for several reasons:
1. the IDF exerted exceptional precision with virtually all of its targeting,
2. it is difficult to imagine what else other than the fuel tanks could have been the intended target at Jiyeh, and
3. after the fire from the first attack was extinguished by the Lebanese, the IDF returned a second night to complete the targeting of the tank farm, during which the entire tank farm was destroyed, resulting in the ensuing major marine oil spill. As you know, the heavy fuel in the tanks at Jiyeh had little other potential use than to run the power generators at the station, and there were other strategic options available to the IDF to incapacitate the power station (if that indeed was a strategic objective) than to destroy the tank farm and risk the inevitable major marine oil spill.

I infer from your letter that you confirm the following:
the IDF did intentionally target the fuel tank farm at Jiyeh
the IDF considered the Jiyeh tank farm a legitimate military target
the IDF considers the collateral damage from the air strikes at Jiyeh – that is, the oil spill - to be proportional to the military advantage achieved by the operation.

Finally, I wish to reiterate the requests as outlined in my letter of 29/8/06 to Prime Minister Olmert as follow:
1. That the government of Israel agree to participate in an independent legal inquiry — if this incident conforms to laws of war, as you contend, this would be confirmed in such an inquiry, thus deflating much of the international concern about this incident, and
2. That Israel establish an Eastern Mediterranean Oil Spill Restoration Fund of $1 billion (USD)
Together, these two initiatives would go a long way toward a constructive resolution of an unfortunate incident that otherwise will only attract greater condemnation internationally. This oil spill seems an excellent opportunity to take a new and more conciliatory approach to relations in your region, and I look forward to working with you toward such an objective.
Thank you again for your letter.
Sincerely, Richard Steiner, Professor, USA
R. Steiner to Olmert letter, 29-8-06

RE: Eastern Mediterranean Oil Spill
Dear Prime Minister Olmert,
I am a professor at the University of Alaska Marine Advisory Program is the U.S., and conducted a Rapid Response mission to Lebanon over the past 2 weeks to advise the Government of Lebanon and several civil society groups there on the Jiyyeh oil spill. My mission was at the request of the Lebanese Ministry of Environment, IUCN, and Greenline – a local environmental NGO. I write today on my own behalf.
First let me express my sincere condolences for the loss of life and property caused by the war on both sides of the border. I’m sure you will agree that we must find better ways of resolving our disputes.
Next, it is my humble conclusion that Israel may have violated international laws of war in its bombing of the fuel tank farm at the Jiyyeh Power Plant south of Beirut which lead to the major oil spill in the region. Let me be very clear on this point - I am not taking sides here in this conflict. I do not care if the person pulling the trigger on the missiles that hit Jiyyeh was Israeli, Hizbollah, or other. As the tank farm is within 100 m of the sea, it was clear that such an attack could lead to a massive oil pollution disaster in the eastern Mediterranean basin, and as such likely violated international laws of war.
As you are aware, all nations are governed by rules of conduct in war, and those rules specifically prohibit intentionally inflicting unnecessary environmental harm.
For instance, Paragraph 18 of the Geneva Convention stipulates the following:
All armed forces, whether regular or irregular, should continue to observe the principles and rules of international environmental and humanitarian law to which the parties to the conflict are bound in times of peace. Natural and cultural resources shall not be pillaged under any circumstances.
As well, the Statute of the International Criminal Court stipulates in Article 8 that the following act may constitute a war crime:
Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such an attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.
Clearly, the Israeli military knew that the Jiyyeh attacks may result in a massive oil spill and an environmental disaster along the Lebanese coast, and struck the tank farm twice to achieve this objective. And if not for the 2-week fire that burned another 25,000 tons of fuel oil at the plant, the spill would have been over twice as large as it was. I can see little strategic military outcome of the Jiyyeh attack, but rather a malicious intent to inflict widespread environmental and economic damage.

Thus, I respectfully ask for your consideration of two specific requests today:
1. Legal Inquiry – that Israel agree to participate in a full and independent legal inquiry of the Jiyyeh incident with regard to whether the incident violated the laws of war (including those cited above).
2. Eastern Mediterranean Oil Spill Restoration Fund - that Israel establish a fund of $1 billion (USD) to be used for the following: a) to reimburse all government costs for oil spill response and cleanup; b) to reimburse fishermen, tourism businesses, and others for economic losses caused by the spill; and c) to develop and implement a comprehensive Restoration program for the injured coastal and marine environment of the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Mr. Prime Minister – let’s try to make the most out of a very difficult situation here. I am preparing a report of my Rapid Response and Assessment Mission that will include my preliminary assessment and recommendations for a way forward in this unfortunate incident. I would be glad to brief you and your staff on my findings at any time, and further discuss this issue. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Richard Steiner, Professor (member IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic, Social Policy)
Anchorage, Alaska USA
ph: 907-786-4156;
fx: 907-786-6312;
afrgs@uaa.alaska.edu
Click here to download the Israel MOJ letter

Alison Kelley, the Oil Spill Environment Unit Response Leader in Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, is in Lebanon to help Green Line develop Oil Spill Emergency Response and Prevention Plans for Lebanon, as well as help in cleanup and ecological assessment. Alison who volunteered comes from Alaska and will stay the whole month in Lebanon surveying the oil spill and developing future plans. Much like Alaska during the Exxon Valdez, a critical element of the oil spill’s impact to our region was the nation’s lack of preparedness for such an event. Green Line hopes that by working with Alison to develop a preliminary Oil Spill Contingency Plan (OSCP) we can help minimize this type of environmental damage in the future.

• General Informal Field Evaluation of Various Beach Sites / Clean-up and Residual Oil
  • There is till not enough resources to do full cleanup. Only a small fraction of the needed money is available. Cleanup operations are still small in scale, with not more than 150 individuals on the ground.
  • “Bahr Lubnan” NGO are saying that they are almost done with underwater oil. After they finish from cleaning underwater and the floating oil along Jiyeh beaches, they will start cleaning Ramlet El Beida and other Beirut polluted beaches.
  • PROMAR, the company hired by the ministry of environment, is also finalizing their work on floating oil in Beirut.
  • USAID hired company, SeaCore, is cleaning in Jbeil port. They are cleaning the docks now with water pressure.
  • The Swiss government is cleaning Tripoli shore and Palm Island reserve. Their contract is very limited and they will stop by the end of the month. The expert there is saying that the money the Swiss gave is not enough to clean the whole reserve.
  • A French company will start soon cleaning rocky beaches. The method they will use is not clear yet. They will start cleaning in the South first.
  • After the storm new oil has appeared on some beaches including Palm Island reserve. Apparently, oil is still moving from one place to another. Old oil on the Island has hardened to the extent that it became like asphalt. Unfortunately we are so late in cleanup to the extent that all volatile toxic part of the oil has entered the ecosystem, and what is left is the hardened thick layer of Hydrocarbons (HC) on the rocks.
  • Bird migration season has started, and the rangers in the Island reserve have found 9 birds contaminated with oil so far. The rangers caught the birds, cleaned them and then released them. The mollusk Vermetes and calcareous algae (Vermetid terraces) have been heavily impacted in the Islands.
  • We observed no invertebrate colonies or other obvious life on the rocky beach shorelines, other than algae, at any of the sites we visited. Therefore, mechanical cleaning operations (high-pressure washing, steam washing, sand-blasting/abrasion, etc.) are expected to be low-risk in terms of environmental impacts to resident flora/fauna.
  • Many oiled rocky shores were contaminated with weathered oil and are considered a lower clean-up priority than areas contaminated with mobile oil/sheen.
  • Training is sorely needed to ensure that well-meaning clean-up crews do not accidentally incur additional environmental damage. Proper segregation and containment techniques, personnel decontamination procedures, and oil removal techniques need to be clearly explained to crews so they can understand how and why specific procedures need to be followed.
  • On-going training of local cleaning crews is strongly encouraged so they may be available as a resource in the event of future oil spills. Additionally, trained personnel involved in spill response tend to take ownership of their environment and translate techniques they learn to other areas (e.g., boat fueling practices, home/office/work waste management & disposal, etc.).
  • Little information was available on the exact plans for disposing of oiled wastes and recovered oil. Large volumes of materials have been staged pending disposal, and we were unable to glean clear guidance on the waste minimization and disposal options available.
  • The Ministry of Environment has not had sufficient staff in the field to oversee and evaluate clean-up operations. This is particularly necessary due to the many international and local resources working on clean-up. Apparently, the MoE receives field reports from the various international, local, and NGO clean-up teams, but without a physical presence on site, it is nearly impossible to assess the effectiveness of the completed and ongoing clean-up operations, and to prioritize clean-up efforts at remaining oiled areas.
  • In Jbeil, we found a fisherman selling a crab contaminated with oil
  
  1. Jieh Power Plant Beach
  Summary: We began our site evaluation with a trip to the beach adjacent to the Jieh Power Plant. Clean-up activities were on hold here, as the crew was awaiting permission from the Minster of Industry to access additional boom & skimmer supplies held in Customs. The bulk of the work had been completed by the Lebanese Union of Professional Divers (LUPD), under contract from Bahr Loubnan, an NGO. An Italian dive team left the work site to return to Italy on November 5th. Contaminated materials from the underwater recovery project were staged adjacent to the beach in ~ 0.5 ton (estimated) hard plastic containers, but the containers themselves were not in secondary containment. Some of the waste containers did not have lids; recent rains had flooded some of the open containers, releasing additional hydrocarbons (HCs) to the ground and potentially to the water. Storm surge had overturned a few of the waste containers, and light-end HCs in the form of sheen were entering the sea. In addition, some bags of cleanup materials were leaching HCs into the beach sand, as they were not effectively contained and were not staged in a lined area. According to Mohammed Sarji (LUPD), the Italian team set a boom across the beach area where wastes are stored, presumably to control sheen runoff into the sea. However, the boom was displaced by recent storm events and heavy seas, and therefore ineffective. Additionally, an approximately 50 cm high ring of weathered oil is visible along the entire rocky shoreline of the cove at Jieh, as observed from the shore. This sludge appeared weathered and therefore poses a lower environmental risk than mobile HCs. I did not observe sheen entering the water from these stained rock areas. Finally, weathered, viscous oil was also on the beach sand and rocky beach along the interior edge of the jetty at Jieh.
  Observation/Recommendation: Crews had been working hard to recover oily waste from the sea, but either were not properly trained or equipped to ensure that contamination was prohibited from re-entering the sea. Any time wastes are generated on beaches extra care must be taken to protect the material from re-entry. This may require assembling a lined waste storage area in an uplands area. If the materials cannot be staged in uplands, they should be stored in closed containers with a lined, stable control (e.g., and earthen berm). Ideally, waste management decisions need to be finalized ASAP and the materials transported off the shore and to their final destination so no further re-contamination of the water and beach occurs from this source. If additional clean-up funds are available for this beach, the oiled jetty contains the most mobile material and should be a priority, as well as skimming as needed to recover sheen leached from waste materials.
  
  2. Delieh Fisherman Port
  Summary: Clean-up had been completed at the harbor approximately 3 weeks prior to our visit. However, the area was heavily oiled, with free-floating mousse (estimated at several cm thick, as observed from shore) and oiled plant debris on the water surface, as well as a sheen covering the entire harbor. Recent storm events likely re-mobilized oil from the seabed or adjacent areas, and released it into the harbor. The harbor is confined and a natural trap for water-borne oil. Although sheen is typical in many fishing ports, this sheen was far more extensive than could be expected from normal boating operations, and no vessels were in the water. Numerous vessels had been dry-docked, but all remained heavily contaminated.
  Observation/Recommendation:The oil in the harbor is mobile and relatively easy to capture and should be a priority for additional clean-up, particularly since boat traffic continues in this harbor, and the boats can transport contamination outside of the harbor. In addition, the local boats must be decontaminated prior to deploying them into the waters. Public outreach/training is necessary to convey the importance of cleaning the boats and properly managing the wash water. Reports were mixed on the exact processes in place for managing oily waste water from clean-up operations. Therefore, manual methods that do not generate oily waste water are strongly recommended for cleaning the boats. Due to the propensity for high surge into the harbor, and traffic into and out of the harbor, a boom set is not a practical option for preventing additional oil from entering the area. Therefore it is important to identify the most likely sources of the oil and perform follow-up clean-up operations in those areas. This would likely require offshore and/or aerial surveillance as well as ground surveillance.
  
  3. Saadiet Beach
  Summary: This beach was littered with numerous small tar-balls (5-15 cm) that looked like oil-coated rocks or pumice, but were in fact pure oil that still contained enough lighter-end HCs to emit a medium-strong odor when broken apart. Light sheen was still evident on the water in the area. A film (estimated 0.1 - 0.3 cm) of weathered oil sludge was present on the rocks along the beach at the intertidal zone.
  Observation/Recommendation: The tar-balls are relatively easy to recover manually (raking/hand-collecting) and should be collected. Additional dive exploration may be warranted to determine the source of the tar-balls, as recoverable oil may remain in the sea bed.
  
  4. Damour Beach
  Summary: Oiled sand was still present along the beach covering ~ 5-10 % of the area below the high water line. The sand appeared to be simply black sand, but on closer inspection proved to be oiled individual sand grains which were striated intermittently throughout the surface and to an observed depth of at least ~ 25 cm. We did not have proper tools to confirm the final depth of the oiled sand, so it may extend deeper. In addition, some of the rocky shore toward the south of this beach was covered with a weathered oil film (~0.1-0.2 cm). The film appeared to be concentrated in eddy areas on rocks in the low tide surf zone.
  Observation/Recommendation: Ideally, the oil should be cleaned from the sand and a proper system implemented to recover the HCs released by the surf wash action.
  
  5. Palm Islands Marine Reserve
  Summary: Funding was committed for crews to recover mobile contamination and contaminated debris, only. The scope did not include scrubbing/mechanically cleaning rock terraces. This clean-up operation was funded by the Suisse and supervised by Le Floch. Due to high water and potential boat landing problems, we were unable to evaluate Sanani and Ramkine Islands; our visit was confined to Palm Island. Contamination on Palm Island was largely confined to the north-northwestern shorelines of the islands. The clean-up supervisor for Le Floch, Frederic Marignac, reported that surge over the weekend had brought additional oil onshore. We observed 2 plant species, Coast Spurge (Euphorbia paralis) and Sea Poppy (Glaucum flavum), which were heavily oiled (~50-90% coverage of exposed foliage, ~0.1-0.5 cm thick) at and below the high water line. The crew was in the process of collecting oiled wood and plant debris that had washed ashore during the storm. Oil was present along the rocky shoreline and terraces. On the northwestern portion of the beach, much of the oil had weathered significantly and hardened on to the rock substrate. On the northern shore, the oil was still somewhat liquefied, although very viscous. Oil on this portion of the island was sequestered in rocky crevices and had begun to congeal on the rock surfaces. M. Marignac was discussing with crews the importance of staging recovered oil and clean-up waste on plastic (to prevent re-release of oil to the environment) as well as personnel decontamination (to ensure that oil was not tracked into clean areas and that personnel did not introduce oil into their homes). Anecdotal reports of oiled birds in the Palm Islands Marine Reserve area could not be confirmed, On-site personnel had not actually observed any, nor were they involved in clean-up recovery of oiled wildlife. M. Marignac assured us that no oiled marine life had been observed or reported.
  Observation/Recommendation: Oiled terraces on the northern shore are unsightly, but the hardened HCs pose little further risk to flora/fauna. Therefore, efforts should be focused on cleaning up mobile oil, oil that has not hardened, and oiled vegetation. However, since the Palm Islands are a Marine Reserve that contributes greatly to the emerging eco-tourism sector in Lebanon, hardened oil should be clean-up up if funds can be made available for aesthetic purposes. As previously discussed, the Le Floch contract does not include manually cleaning oil from rocks, so it would be prudent to locate additional funding while the material is still relatively easy to recover. Once hardened, removal will be nearly impossible and the costs would likely far exceed the benefit. M. Marignac indicated that the intention was to work through November, suspend operations for the winters, and re-evaluate the remaining damage in the spring. With respect to oiled vegetation, discussions with M. Marignac revealed prior success with pruning oiled areas from oiled plants, leaving un-oiled portions intact to recover during the growing season. If no un-oiled portions are intact, it is possible to leave a small oiled portion un-pruned; they have witnessed successful re-growth from plants with this method. Improperly trained crews had been pulling entire oiled plants and roots systems as part of the clean-up. M. Marignac advised crews not to remove or trim any plants, but to focus instead on capturing mobile oil.
  
  

The MOE stated that there is a $ 400,000 protocol agreement between Lebanon and Switzerland to clean the stretch of coast. The protocol is to be spent in agreement between the governments of Lebanon and Switzerland to clean the coast from Anfeh until Tripoli including Palm Islands Protected Area. His Excellency Mr Barras explained that the cleanup operations have already started with the assistance of local fishermen. He also explained that this protocol is part of the overall programme of assistance that Switzerland has committed to rebuild Lebanon.
Darko Domovic (IMO / REMPEC representative in Lebanon) is due to leave Lebanon on the 3rd of November.
Up to date the amount of oil collected is:
-850 m³ of liquid, semi-liquid and semi-solid oil (from sea, pools on rocky shore and from sea bottom);
-400 m³ of oil contaminated debris / garbage (from beaches and shores);
-Around 1000 m³ of oil contaminated sand and pebbles from beaches (of which at least 35-40 m³ are heavily contaminated).

JIEH
- The Italian Coast Guard has completed the mapping exercise around Jieh and will be submitting their report to OSOCC as soon as it is ready.
- The Italian Ministry of Environment team is continuing with Bahr Lubnan to extract the submerged oil off the coast of Jieh.
BEIRUT
PROMAR has been contracted to extract the free floating oil around Fishermen’s wharf (Dalieh) and Raouche in Beirut.
BYBLOS TO ANFEH
- USAID has donated around funds of around 5 millions USD for the oil spill cleanup operations. They have contracted the company SEACOR to work on the stretch of coast from Byblos until Anfeh.

ANFEH TO TRIPOLI
- Swiss Humanitarian Aid is preparing a proposal for the clean up operations for the polluted stretch of coast from Anfeh until Tripoli including Palm Islands Protected Area.
- Site assessment continues and more sites will be opened when all needed resources are available (these include financial and human resources).

- Figures of oil and contaminated debris removed to date:
Total removed floating and submerged liquid oil to date = 675m3.
Total Oil contaminated debris recovered until 13 October 2006 = 127m3
- Green Line started preparing a legal report on the oil spill compensation fund, holding Israel responsible for the entire economic and ecological damage. Green Line is also initiating a scientific study on the impact of the oil spill on marine life; and the impact of the oil droplets fallout in Jiyeh on human health.
- Professor Rick Steiner, the oil spill expert from the University of Alaska, who has been doing an assessment for Green Line and IUCN during August has finalized his report. His assessment has shown that delaying cleanup efforts has increased the ecological damage from the oil spill. Steiner analysis clearly shows that local authority has not been doing their job properly. He also held Israel responsible for this oil spill and requested a 1 billion dollar compensation for the damage.

- Oil Spill Cleanup Equipment received to date:
The Ministry of Environment has received equipment from the following Governments:
- KUWAIT
- NORWAY
- CYPRUS
- FINLAND
- FRANCE
- ITALY
- SPAIN

Following up on the training that was done on Ramlet Al Bayda on the 8th of September, and having the Danish Delegation on hand to provide the training, OSOCC is providing the second level of beach cleanup training to volunteers who took part in the first training. The training is theory based and will focus on beach cleanup layouts and team leader and site supervisor responsibilities with some do’s and don’ts during beach cleanups.
The details of the training are as follows:
Day: Thursday
Date: 28th of September
Venue: the Green Conference Room at the Ministry of Environment (Rm 7 – 48).
Duration: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Language used: English
Trainer: Mr Frank Winther of the Danish Delegation
Please contact Ghada Mitri on 03 / 562 441 or e-mail no later than Wednesday 5 pm to confirm attendance.
The Ministry of Environment, with the assistance of the Lebanese Navy, has received Spanish aid material on the 22nd of September. The material includes needed equipment such as personal protective equipment, booms, pumps and others. This batch of equipment has been added to what was received from the Kuwaiti, Norwegian and French Governments and will be used according to the needs of each site. The needs of each site are set by the site assessment team. This assessment is continuous and the team is of two people, an officer from the Ministry of Environment and an international expert experienced in oil spill site assessments from Cedre.

The MOE has stated that the Lebanese Navy has completed the oil extraction from Byblos Marina and Movenpick Marina. I recently went down to Movenpick Marina and spoke to workers there. They told me that there is still a small patch of oil that collects everyday and they are removing it by hand. There is a sheen on the surface of the water and the worker told me that clean boats go out into the sea and return dirty.

Oil removal off the sea bed in Jieh in continuing. The Italian team of divers and experts (from the Italian Ministry of Environment and Coastguard) are now onsite in Jieh and they will start mapping the sea bed to give us a complete picture of what the situation is under the water level. They will be then widening their scope of work to map the entire coastline South to North.

The cleanup operation at Fisherman’s Wharf “Dalieh” in Beirut is flowing smoothly. The private company PROMAR that was contracted and is carrying out the work, is being supported by the company Hamid Kayrouz that is assisting in transporting the extracted fuel to the identified storage tanks that were provided by the company Soliver. So far 138m3 of oil have been extracted. The company has the ability to dredge the waste/garbage mixed in the oil and move it to one side to then skim the oil out of the wharf.

The quantities of liquid oil recovered so far from various sites along the Lebanese costs are as follows:

SITE	QUANTITY OF LIQUID OIL [m3]
Byblos area and surroundings	345
Dalieh Fishermen’s Wharf and surrounding area	138
Movenpick marina and surrounding area	60
Jiyeh Power Plant area and surroundings	32

The total amount of liquid oil recovered to date is: 575 m3

Work has finally really began in Dehlieh port in Beirut. A company contracted by the MoE called Promar is using a boat and sucking the oil directly into containers. The results can be easily seen as roughly 30% of the oil has been removed and work will continue for the next five days until it is all removed. Two fishing boats have been utilized to remove large garbage but the company is utilizing a kind of pump that allows for small garbage and rocks to pass through and a metal mesh collects them before they enter the oil collector. Officials from the MoE have stated that this oil/garbage that is being removed will be shipped to other countries and processed there.
A press conference by Bahr Loubnan member Mohamad el Sarji updated the progress and cleaning methodologies that they are using to clean the shores. An expert from France is assessing the coast to advice on the best methods that each beach will need to be cleaned. Bahr Loubnan are also employing fishermen to help with the cleanup. They are currently working on cleaning the seabeds in Jiyeh and Jbeil as well as the polluted sand beaches of Ramlet el Bayda and Jiyeh, Preparation of the cleaning of Saadiyat beach and Byblos and Amchit rock beaches has begun. The rocky beach in Enfeh is also next to be cleaned and there is preparation to begin there too.

No detailed cleanup plan has been presented from any involved organization, even after two months.
In Jbeil beach, clean sand was placed over dirty polluted sand. People who think that by covering up a visual eyesore they are solving the problem need to know that they are just making things worse for the environment. The beach is not just a place where people go to 'sunbathe'…it is a living ecosystem. If all the municipalities plan to clean their beaches like this then we are in for a lot more trouble. The MoE was informed of this by Green Line (NGO).
The Ministry of Environment is working on a second upgraded training for people who want to work as team leaders and managers once a full clean up plan is finalized. After a meeting with Ghada Mitri in the MoE, she said a detailed schedule of trainings will be emailed to all groups interested and a notice will be placed on this site.
Bahr Loubnan (NGO) is working with 40 divers to clean the seabed in Jiiyeh. Winter is fast approaching and all experts have said that cleanup work needs to be speeded up on all fronts.
The Greenpeace flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, has come to Beirut to assist in the oil spill cleanup. It will be helping in the mapping of the seabed contamination as well as scientific analysis.
Work is continuing on Ramlet el Bayda beach but the MoE has informed us that it is only working on priority beaches right now that mostly contain free flowing oil. The polluted sand is still on the shore and Bahr Loubnan, in a recent press release, has stated that it will relocate them to a confined warehouse of an undisclosed location but no deadline has been placed.
The fishermen in Dalieh seaport attempted to push the oil that had collected in the port into the deep sea by removing the protective booms (which stop the oil from re-entering clean waters) that were placed by the Lebanese army. The fishermen need to know that this will not solve their problems, but their patience (because their port is still dirty) is wearing thin and that is understandable too as they have been unable to fish for two months. The Minister of the Environment said he will try to speed up their compensation.

A rave will be held tonight at Art Lounge (by lebaneseravers.com) beginning at 9pm until sunrise. All benefits will be donated to the Oil Spill Working Group. $20, 2 drinks, tickets sold at the door. The night is called RELEASE.

Environmental NGOs criticize governmental weakness and negligence facing the Oil Spill After more than four week of the “cessation of hostilities and eight weeks of the occurrence of the oil spill cause by the Israeli Aggression on Lebanon, cleanup operations of affected areas are still not moving in a complete and systematic way to reduce the future impacts of this tragedy on the marine life, environment, fishermen and tourism.
Despite the commitment and arrival of a significant amount of assistance and aid from several countries and international institutions (after Athens and Stockholm meetings) including the last donation provided by a local NGO for the cleanup of ALL Lebanese beaches and waters, governmental efforts facing this disaster are still insufficient in scale and type

A press conference will be held today by Green Line to update the public on what is happening in the oil spill clean up issue. Green Line, Byblos Ecologia and other NGO's will discuss the work that has been done and still needs to be done.

Work is continuing on the Ramlet el Bayda clean up. Bahr Libanan, a local NGO, has been given the permission to clean the sand and nearly 30 members have been cleaning the shore for the last few days (actually Bahr Libanan have sent a report to the Prime Minister of Lebanon that stated how they can clean the entire Lebanese coastline with the help of the French Ministry of Environment's (expertise and equipment) and under the supervision of the Lebanese MoE). In continuing with their campaign volunteers from Green Line and some independent activists have also been continuing to clean the shore as shown to them by the French Navy experts.

As a summary of the work that has been done to date:

• Byblos Marina – the work inside the marina has finished, the oil on the outside of the marina is being collected, and the next step is to work with the fishermen to clean the polluted fishing boats. The Municipality of Byblos and the fishermen are working very closely with the team of experts onsite and work is flowing smoothly.
• Movenpick marina – oil is being extracted out of the marina and operations are continuing.
• Fishermen’s wharf – “Meenet el Dalyeh” in Ras Beirut – Due to the immense amount of garbage in the oil in the wharf, the skimmer onsite keeps getting blocked. Work is being carried out by the team of experts working on this site to deal with the garbage in the oil to allow the skimmer to work. Different initiatives are being tested to deal with the garbage in the oil. The free floating oil has been contained by barrier booms to prevent its spread in preparation for its removal
• Ramlet Al Bayda – the polluted garbage / debris has been collected and the cleanup of the beach is continuing in stages. The onsite officer in charge is Commendant Christian Nedelec – please contact him should you wish to participate and he will organize time and location with you. His phone number is: 70 159 875.
• Jiyyeh – Cleanup operations had started onsite by a private contractor and will be continued with foreign experts and Lebanese NGOs.
• Local NGO's have been working on cleaning the Jbeil public beach.

Total oil extracted to date is approximately 340m³.

A training took place today on Ramlet el Bayda beach. The training was given by the Lebanese army. NGO's and independent activists took part as well as volunteers from the Civil Defense. The training explained how the basic equipment and protective wear are used and how the beach should be split so that clean sand is not polluted. Some people from the MoE were also onsight.

Local NGO's met with the minister of the environment and discussed the cleanup matters. He said work will continue.

Work has begun on the cleanup of the underwater oil near Jiyyeh which sunk to the bottom of the sea. The oil is being taken out by members of the Civil Defense and the Divers Union.
Bahr Libnan, a local NGO has submitted a request to the prime minister of Lebanon, Fouad el Sanuora, to clean the entire coastline. They will be working under the supervision of the MoE.
Work has begun on the cleanup of Movenpick hotel. 40 tonnes of oil were skimmed out of the port and the pumping should be finalized by today.
The oil and garbage is still lying in the Delieh port and work has stopped there until a solution is found on how all the garbage can be removed before skimming can begin. The MoE and the army have not given a deadline of when the work will continue and be finalised.

Message for the Ministry of Environment
Calling all NGOs and volunteers interested in participating in the oil spill cleanup operations.
An onsite training session has been organised for Friday the 8th of September to explain the technique that will be used in cleaning sandy beaches.
Time: STARTING 9 am till 12 pm – Please be ontime, bring your water and wear a hat and sunscreen.
Location: Ramlet Al Bayda – the North side.
Trainers: from the Lebanese Civil Defense and the Lebanese Navy
NGO’s Please note that the maximum number from any NGO should not exceed 10.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED AND WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TRAINING – PLEASE CALL THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, AND CONFIRM BEFORE 6 PM on the 7th of September.
Looking forward to seeing you onsite on the 8th.
Should you have any questions, or to confirm attendance, please contact me, Ghada Mitri on 03 562 441

I am a professor at the University of Alaska Marine Advisory Program is the U.S., and conducted a Rapid Response mission to Lebanon over the past 2 weeks to advise the Government of Lebanon and several civil society groups there on the Jiyyeh oil spill. My mission was at the request of the Lebanese Ministry of Environment, IUCN, and Greenline – a local environmental NGO. I write today on my own behalf.
First let me express my sincere condolences for the loss of life and property caused by the war on both sides of the border. I’m sure you will agree that we must find better ways of resolving our disputes.

Next, it is my humble conclusion that Israel may have violated international laws of war in its bombing of the fuel tank farm at the Jiyyeh Power Plant south of Beirut which lead to the major oil spill in the region. Let me be very clear on this point - I am not taking sides here in this conflict. I do not care if the person pulling the trigger on the missiles that hit Jiyyeh was Israeli, Hizbollah, or other. As the tank farm is within 100 m of the sea, it was clear that such an attack could lead to a massive oil pollution disaster in the eastern Mediterranean basin, and as such likely violated international laws of war.

As you are aware, all nations are governed by rules of conduct in war, and those rules specifically prohibit intentionally inflicting unnecessary environmental harm.

For instance, Paragraph 18 of the Geneva Convention stipulates the following:

All armed forces, whether regular or irregular, should continue to observe the principles and rules of international environmental and humanitarian law to which the parties to the conflict are bound in times of peace. Natural and cultural resources shall not be pillaged under any circumstances.

As well, the Statute of the International Criminal Court stipulates in Article 8 that the following act may constitute a war crime:

Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such an attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.

Clearly, the Israeli military knew that the Jiyyeh attacks may result in a massive oil spill and an environmental disaster along the Lebanese coast, and struck the tank farm twice to achieve this objective. And if not for the 2-week fire that burned another 25,000 tons of fuel oil at the plant, the spill would have been over twice as large as it was. I can see little strategic military outcome of the Jiyyeh attack, but rather a malicious intent to inflict widespread environmental and economic damage.

Thus, I respectfully ask for your consideration of two specific requests today:

1. Legal Inquiry – that Israel agree to participate in a full and independent legal inquiry of the Jiyyeh incident with regard to whether the incident violated the laws of war (including those cited above).

2. Eastern Mediterranean Oil Spill Restoration Fund - that Israel establish a fund of $1 billion (USD) to be used for the following: a) to reimburse all government costs for oil spill response and cleanup; b) to reimburse fishermen, tourism businesses, and others for economic losses caused by the spill; and c) to develop and implement a comprehensive Restoration program for the injured coastal and marine environment of the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Mr. Prime Minister – let’s try to make the most out of a very difficult situation here. I am preparing a report of my Rapid Response and Assessment Mission that will include my preliminary assessment and recommendations for a way forward in this unfortunate incident. I would be glad to brief you and your staff on my findings at any time, and further discuss this issue. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Richard Steiner,
Professor (member IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic, Social Policy) Anchorage, Alaska USA
ph: 907-786-4156;
fax: 907-786-6312;
email:afrgs@uaa.alaska.edu

Message from the Ministry of Environment:
Clean-up operations will continue in Eddé Sands Beach in Jbeil on Sunday the 3rd of September 2006 with an NGO called 'Byblos Ecologia.
This is a call to all Volunteers who have registered their interest in volunteering and assisting the Ministry of Environment in the Oil Spill Cleanup operations.
This is a first mobilization step. More calls will be sent out when more sites are opened.
The cleanup operation at RAMLET AL BAYDA needs the following:
Volunteers:

• 30 people in the morning shift from 8am to 2pm
• 30 people in the afternoon shift
• Volunteers to litter pick to facilitate the process

Some Volunteers (depending on numbers) might be asked to assist onsite in Fisherman’s wharf.
If you are interested and able to volunteer, please contact Colonel Michel Hashem of the Lebanese Naval Army who is working closely with the Ministry of Environment and who is coordinating the work onsite. He can be reached on: 01 / 983 468 – 03 / 303 832.
All volunteers will be briefed on the right procedures by the Naval Army and French experts' onsite tomorrow morning.
Please note that if you cannot make this operation, more will follow and you will be notified accordingly.
AND last but not least, please remember its still summer – wear caps and don’t forget to put on sunscreen / sun block

The Lebanese navy and an expert team from the French Navy today began work on Ramlet el Bayda to clean the polluted sand. The technique they will use is one that was tried in the Erica oil spill where the polluted sand is thrown back into the sea and wave action separates the oil from the sand. They will also be using booms to collect the oil and then a skimmer to pump the oil out of the water. The experts said that the entire shore of 1.6kn will take approximately eight weeks.
Lebanese officials have conducted a new aerial survey of the massive oil spill on Beirut’s coastline. Computer models estimate that some of the oil has evaporated and significant amounts are now on shore. However, experts remain uncertain as to the precise quantity still at sea which is why the surveys are a top priority. The need for aerial surveillance was identified in The International Assistance Action Plan tabled and approved in Athens, Greece, on 17 August 2006. Environmental Expert Georges Pinier: "The objective of this trip today was to get additional data comparing to what we already got yesterday with the first survey we did for which we did not go further north than Tripoli. This is why we had to go to the border. What we have seen mainly is that there is no oil underwater in the sea, all the oil which is there is at the coastline." (democracynow).

The clean up on Ramlet el Bayda beach continued but the polluted sand has yet to be removed by the authorities to a confined location off the beach. A new oil slick appeared in the waves bringing with it fresh emulsified oil. The locations were the booms were absorbed the oil but as there are only 300m of booms the rest of the beach was once again polluted with a new supply of oil.
After placing the protective booms to stop the oil from moving off shore again the Lebanese army tried to use the skimmer in the Dehlieh port in Beirut but there was too much rubbish in the oil (plastic bottles, plastic bags…etc) and the garbage kept clogging up the skimmer.
The army tried a number of attempts to clean the oil from the debris (using nets) but all the efforts failed. In the end it was decided that the oil needed to be fully cleaned before any skimmer could work properly and a metal cage would be built around the skimmer to stop any kind of garbage from hampering the skimmer's work. The work continues.

A clean up near Edde Sands in Jbeil took place today by Byblos Ecologia. Around 55 volunteers shoveled and placed polluted sand onto a sieve where the tar balls remained on the sieve while the clean sand fell back onto the beach. The work was labour intensive and several teams worked in different locations.

Finally, after a lot of bureaucratic work, we were allowed to use the front loader tractor to clean the polluted sand on Ramlet el Bayda. This is what we had been waiting for. The driver of the tractor was even more excited than us when we saw the two policemen approach us and say, yes, we could begin. The driver, Sabaa', said it will take him ten days to do the entire beach. What we are doing is removing the polluted sand and placing it far away from the water on a plastic sheet awaiting their removal to a confined warehouse by the MoE. It is a start. Hopefully this will cause other people to contact the MoE and ask how they can clean their beaches.
This Sunday, the public beach in Jbeil will be cleaned and volunteers are needed. Please call and spend the day at the beach.

There was a press conference given by Professor Rick Steiner and Dr. Ali Darwiche to summarize the work that the professor had been doing over the past week. Professor Steiner presented his preliminary plan on the stages of the clean up that should be followed by all concerned.
Some protective booms were placed on the entrance of the Movenpick Hotel port by the army in the morning. It is not clear if they will be skimming the oil in that port soon but no booms were placed in the Dehlia port but fishermen told us that the army and the Danish experts had passed by.
The Green Line Oil Spill team has been given permission by the MoE to clean up Ramlet el Bayda on the 24th of August. The clean up will take place from 8.30am to 11am and then from 4pm to 7pm. Volunteers are needed.
Byblos Ecologia will be cleaning up the Jbeil Public beach on Sunday 27th of August. The cleanup will be all day. Volunteers are needed.

The white absorbent booms that were placed on the 17th on Ramlet el Bayda were removed as they had become saturated with oil and had turned completely black. Some of the remaining ones were relocated on another part of the shore because they were still white and could absorb more fuel.
Greenpeace and the Lebanese Union of Professional Divers held a press conference where a video was screened showing unseen footage of the underwater oil slick covering an area stretching for at least 100 meters to the West and up to dozens of meters to the North and South around the Jiyeh Power plant.
From a phone call to a talk show in the evening, the Minister of Environment (MoE) Yacoub Sarraf, stated that the UN has been given permission to survey the off shore area in a UN helicopter and see the extent of floating oil slicks. He also said the Rainbow Warrior from Greenpeace might be helping with the off shore cleanup.

The entire Oil Spill Working Group from Green Line took part in the Future Televison's talk show 'Seeret wou Infatahet'. This was a special episode on the oil spill that had occurred. The guests with Zaven were Wael Hmaidan and Ghada Mitri (from the MoE).
The majority of the audience in this program (that is aired live on both terrestrial and satellite channels so it can be seen by people in the Arab world, US, Europe and Australia) were from the Green Line Oil Spill Working Group. The episode turned out to be an exiting mix of opinions and many people and experts called in to discuss the matter. Some of the highlights was a phone call from Dr. Fifi Kallab of Byblos Ecologia.

Today, the oil spill team and Prof. Rick Steiner, the IUCN oil spill expert, went to the Jiyyeh power plant, ground zero for the oil disaster. Five weeks after the initial strike the fire had died out we drove through the open guardless gates of the power plant and immediately saw what had once been a huge fuel tank, crumpled up and collapsed like a piece of paper. At first glance, we counted five tanks and all of them were burnt partially or completely. The site looked like a scene from a science fiction movie. As we walked around the tanks we could still feel heat emanating from below us and in a number of places there was still smoke rising from holes in the ground. The intense oil/fire smell was overwhelming and I thought I could feel the dioxin entering my lungs. The ground was a crumbly crust and in some places stalagmite-like features grew from this crust. It was bizarre and I felt like I was walking on Mars.
When rockets fired from Apache helicopters had bombed the power plant, a huge fire had engulfed the tanks forming a plume of smoke which subsequently rose several hundred meters vertically up in the air carrying droplets of heavy fuel oil to nearby homes and beaches, spotting rocks and floors with black fuel spots. The people we spoke to had reported respiratory and breathing difficulties during the fire but with time these side effects had become less severe. The tanks had burnt for more than three weeks and although the toxic chemicals spread all over greater Beirut, the people of Jiyyeh must have been, by far, the most affected.
Based on wind and water currents, the oil slick was expected to move northwards, but until now no one was sure if the slick had not moved south of Jiyyeh as well. Today’s drive was to investigate the southern extent from the plant of the pollution. We stopped by a number of beaches south of Jiyyeh, and we discovered that a 5km circular zone around the plant was marred with droplets of oil which seemed to become smaller and more scattered as we moved away from the plant. This spotting was seen on everything that was left outside. Some locals told us it had ‘rained fuel’ and ‘one day the smoke was so thick the sun was not visible’.
At a small beach resort 1km south of Jiyyeh a large amount of oil rested on the shore and rocks, the manager George, his wife, brother and son welcomed us and explained that they do not have the financial or technical capacity to clean their area, “the pressurized water pump that is used to clean oil off rocks will cost thousands of dollars and we cannot afford to buy it, the oil spill and the war have already caused a loss of $300,000 dollars.” The manager asked why the government did not inspect their area yet and whether the technical assistance and experts they hear about in the news are employed in cleanup. It was also a lucky coincidence that Elie, George’s son, had remained at the resort during the air raids and had seen what had happened. He told us there were two attacks. The first, on the 14th of July, at 2am, had ignited a tank but the fire brigade was able to put it out and no oil had leaked. The second attack took place on the 16th at 2am and this one caused a huge explosion of one of the tanks and the subsequent fire managed to ignite the remaining tanks. As the tanks collapsed oil spilled into the sea. The fire brigade were helpless as they had no foam and were not capable of extinguishing such a large blaze. The inferno went on for days and at some point the oil floating on the sea also caught fire. The reason we know all this is the Elie caught it all on his cell phone camera.
We now had a better idea of the size of the entire problem. The assessment of the entire beach is over and we know where the hotspots are and now we have a greater motive to kick start the national clean up. People like George will keep asking for a cleanup in their small resorts until they get it because it is their source of income but several public small rocky or sandy spots that we saw swimming in oil along the coast have no one to claim them or to advocate their clean up and might just remain polluted if each one of us does not fight to save every meter of our Lebanese coast.
But Rick had a sad fact to tell us. He said that in most oil spills, 10% of the oil is the most that can be cleaned. I hope we prove him wrong and change that particular statistic.

During the Israeli war on Lebanon and a week after the aid raid on the Jiyyel power plant, the oil spill team started an assessment of the affected areas north of Beirut. It was discovered that the damage was far reaching and severely affected marine ecology and people’s livelihoods.
It was obvious that removing the oil from the water, sand and rocks is a priority regardless of the circumstances and that delay only meant that the oil will settle deeper into the sea bed, rocks, sand and maritime species which causes greater damage and makes it harder and more expensive to cleanup.
After three weeks of assessment, planning and delays we could not wait any longer, cease fire had not yet been achieved but the oil spill team decided to start cleanup!
Our team and cleanup coordinator set their plan, all we needed was cleanup material which included basic manual equipment, personal protective equipment and special absorbent booms (3m long special absorbent materials) which the ministry of environment agreed to provide to us. We contacted experts to assist with the booms and cleanup technique, arranged for transport and storage space of the polluted sand and planned for a follow-up with the ministry for proper treatment at a later stage.
Thursday morning 9am
30 volunteers gathered in Ramlet el Baida and emptied the cleaning materials and protective equipments and got ready for cleanup. They wore their protective overalls and rubber boots; put their gloves, goggles and face masks on and dug out oily sand with shovels and collected them in piles for a bulldozer to pickup later. Another team setup the absorbent booms along the shoreline to absorb the oil brought in with the waves.
We removed oily sand from a small spot on Ramlet el Baida but were then informed that we were not allowed to bring the bulldozer in; this meant we had to leave the sand on site and risk it being spread onto the beach again or it being washed out into the sea far from our reach.
Friday morning 9am
The team decided to resume cleanup, we were still unsure whether we will be allowed to move the oily sand from the beach. The bulldozer was parked at the southern entrance of the beach with the driver awaiting our signal of when he can start taking the polluted sand out. In the meantime we decided to remove the oily garbage that was thrown onshore. The reason we had to leave the polluted sand on site was because the ministry of environment did not approve that we move it to a private storage space. We had been in contact with the ministry about our intention for cleanup weeks ahead and they had known our plan verbally and in writing. They had assisted us by providing absorbent booms and when they could not provide storage space for us to place the sand we provided a space and informed them. The fact that they stated this on cleanup day reduced the effectiveness of our work and the team’s effort, what’s a cleanup when you keep the contamination on site?
Nevertheless, the oil spill cleanup team made a great accomplished. We proved cleanup can start and should, many areas can be cleaned using very basic equipment and there is no reason for delay. That day we started cleanup on the public beach in Beirut, and a day later we heard that an environmental NGO and a hundred volunteers went to cleanup their beach in Byblos, unfortunately they were also prevented from moving the polluted sand from the beach.
No single group can clean the whole coast on its own and our priority should be immediate cleanup, a national clean up plan should have been out when cease fire was announced and even then we were already very late.
The main victims of this unjustified delay are our country, marine life, people living off the coast and waters of Lebanon, and our future generations who will never know our coastline as we knew it before the spill.

Even after a month of the attack and the spill occurrence, no clean up operations were started yet, due to the ongoing Israeli aggression. The oil has settled deep into the sand, rocks and seabed. Delaying the cleanup operations further makes this spill more dangerous and harder to clean. For that reason, environmental activists from different NGO's and some 'freelancers' will be the first to take action by highlighting the importance of an immediate response and by leading one of the first cleaning campaigns. The clean up operations will start on the 17 th of August 2006 at 9am sharp at Ramlet El Bayda beach.
The detrimental environmental, social and economical impacts of this spill have started and will most likely continue for many years to come. Sensitive fish spawning and nursery areas as well as valuable sea turtle nesting sites in one of the most important Mediterranean ecosystems were directly hit by this highly toxic oil. The air pollution resulting from the continuous burning of the tanks in the Jiyyeh power plant fuel and the vapours of the floating oil are affecting all the coastal areas that are now inhabited by about three million people. On the longer term, this will lead to increased cancer cases, respiratory problems and other diseases. Another important impact of the spill is its effect on tourism and other economical sectors. The Lebanese coast is an important tourist/recreation destination and the livelihood source for thousands of fishermen.