It was weary and at times frustrated volunteers who spoke to Coconuts Hong Kong yesterday afternoon as we visited Lamma Island to see for ourselves ongoing cleanup efforts attempting to deal with the nearly 1,000 tons of palm oil slowly washing ashore in the wake of a collision that took place a week ago today in mainland waters.
Thirteen beaches, mainly in the southern part of Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island and Lamma, have been closed since Sunday due to the contamination.
The palm oil spilled into the sea after two vessels – one of which was carrying 9,000 tons of palm oil — crashed in the Pearl River Estuary last Thursday, Oriental Daily reports. However, Chinese authorities only notified the Hong Kong government on Saturday.
Contractors for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department who were clearing palm oil from Hung Shing Yeh Beach on Lamma Island yesterday expressed their frustration with the pace of operations, saying the situation did not seem to be getting any better after days of hard work, as the spilled oil would not stop washing up to the beach.
One of the five cleaners working at the beach, surnamed Leung, said the Hong Kong government should deploy more people to clean up the mess.
The cleaner told Coconuts Hong Kong she had filled more than 100 bags with the oil lumps between 9am and 3pm today, but the globules “just keep washing up”.
That first-hand conclusion was in keeping with earlier government predictions. After conducting a helicopter inspection, Under Secretary for the Environment Tse Chin-wan said it would take up to two weeks to clear the oil spill, as he said there are currently 100 to 200 tons of oil spreading in Hong Kong waters. Tse optimistically added that some of the beaches would hopefully be able to reopen “in the coming days”.
Both Tse and the government have repeatedly stressed that the congealed lumps of oil are not toxic to humans. Tse has additionally played down accusations that the Chinese authorities were slow to notify the Hong Kong government over the spill, saying in a press conference yesterday that China didn’t realize until Saturday that the oil would spread to “other regions”, AFP reports.
That explanation didn’t wash with some of those Coconuts Hong Kong spoke to yesterday. One lifeguard working at the beach, surnamed Lee, expressed frustration at the seeming lack of communication, saying the Hong Kong authorities could have blocked the oil from washing up on shore if they were notified of the crash earlier.
Citizen volunteers who answered an online call to clean up Hung Shing Yeh Beach told a Coconuts reporter that they would have to act fast in order to collect the solidified oil before it dissolves.
Deputy Director for Environmental Protection Elvis Au said earlier that the oil melts at 59 degrees Celsius, according to the SCMP.
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