Lebanon conflict

The incident

From 13 to 15 July 2006, bombings in southern Lebanon hit the Jieh electric power plant. Part of the heavy fuel oil stored there burned. 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes of fuel oil (IFO 150) were spilled at sea and polluted 100 km of Lebanese coastline (sand, pebbles, rocks, ports).

Crisis management

• Support from French authorities:
• Technical coordination through CEDRE and REMPEC (action plan agreed on on 17 August 2006). CEDRE had a representative on site from 21 August to locally coordinate international support and provide technical advice.
• Provision of equipment by France and training of volunteers for cleaning (estimated cost: 1 million Euros).
• Recommendations (health and safety, closing access to beaches, environment, general recovery and cleaning, wxadte management…).

• International support:
• Intervention in three phases: emergency response, organised cleaning, impact study and reinforcement of local capabilities.
• Participation of the European Commission, French Navy, and NGOs such as Bahr Loubnan.

Spill Response

• Surveys were carried out on the coastline (aerial, at sea, on land) to assess the extent of the pollution.
• Coastline cleanup: from 23 August, the Ministry for the equipment and the French Navy sent an equipment stockpile for beach cleaning (on-site on 28 August), accompanied by a team of 8 specialists to train the Lebanese personnel (Lebanese Navy and volunteers) to use it.

Waste management

•   The amount of litter collected and stored was estimated to, in June 2008, 500 m³ of liquid waste and 3,120 m³ of semi-solid waste collected during the two cleaning phases.

Impacts

• Environment:
• Marine fauna:  Benthic invertebrates were at risk of oiling and toxic contamination. Reproduction sites (Palm island and Tyr beach) for turtles and monk seals were potentially threatened. Risks were moderate for sea birds.
• Fishing and tourism: ban on swimming and restrictions on fishing activities.

Results

• Major but localised pollution in an environment already under pressure. No threat for the general equilibrium in the Mediterranean.
• Complicated cleaning: multiple months of work in a war context, with limited logistical resources.
• Priorities: safety, waste management, restoration of sensitive sites (natural reserves).