THE OIL SPILL IN LEBANON 2006: A STUDY OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS AND PAHS IN THE COASTAL ECOSYSTEM

摘要

The armed conflict between the Hezbolo in Lebanon and Israel during the summer 2006 resulted in damage to infrastructure and buildings on both sides. One of the targets of Israeli attacks was the fuel storage tanks of the Jiyeh power plant south of Beirut. The fuel storage tanks were hit by missiles on July 13 and July 15. The attacks resulted in a fire and the release of 10-15 thousand tons of fuel oil into the Mediterranean Sea. The clean-up efforts after the spill were prevented for about one month due to the ongoing conflict and a naval blockade of the country.rnThe present investigation was carried out in order to assess the environmental damage of the oil spill. The investigation focused on the levels of petroleum hydrocarbons including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments, oysters, and fish. The samples were collected from about 30 different sites along the coast. The concentrations found in the sampling carried out 3 months after the spill showed moderately elevated concentrations in the same range as what is often found in coastal sediments subjected to anthropogenic influences from boating and run-off from urban areas. Although the oil spill resulted in significant contamination of the shoreline, it probably added only marginally to the background concentrations in the seabed sediments at 4 to 25 m water depth along the Lebanese coast.rnThe oil spill caused minor impact on contaminated rocks and beaches directly exposed to the oil spill. These impacts were caused mainly by the physical properties of the oil as most of the toxic compounds evaporated in connection with the fire when the oil spill started and the weathering processes when the oil drifted northwards along the Lebanese coast.