People along part of Pakistan's coast are increasingly suffering from skin, eye and respiratory infections nearly three years after a tanker ran aground and spilled oil nearby, according to study results.
An environmentalist also said the Arabian Sea spill from the Greek-registered tanker has affected marine life, especially turtles that nest on the sandy beaches near Pakistan's main seaport, Karachi.
The Tasman Spirit, owned by Malta-based Assimina Maritime Ltd, was carrying 67,000 tonnes of crude oil from Iran when it broke apart in August 2003 in shallow waters off Karachi.
PHOTO: AP
A thick layer of oil covered nearby beaches within the next few days. A clean-up followed, but environmentalists say authorities have not done enough to protect residents.
Now, people say they are paying the price for living or working nearby.
Abul Bashar, a fisherman, said he has acute eczema, and his once-healthy nine-year old son, Rafiqul Bashar, suffers from asthma.
He blames the oil spill.
"My son was fit until age seven, but in the last two years this problem has developed," said Bashar, who lives in a slum near the coast.
Sher Gul, 39, a truck cleaner who works nearby, also complained of asthma.
"Before [the oil spill] I was well, but after oil came in the sea, the air got thick and troubled me," he said.
Results of a study started in late 2003 and released in the past week by the Aga Khan Medical University in Karachi concluded that eye, skin and gastrointestinal problems, as well as respiratory infections caused by fumes emitted by the oil, had become more prevalent.
The research was supported by the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the US.
The researchers randomly examined about 500 people in three groups: those living on the coast, 2km from the coast, and 20km from the coast.
The results showed the coast-dwellers suffered many more health problems than the other two groups.
Khalid Mushtaq, an area physician, confirmed that patients were often complaining of respiratory infections and asthma.
"In the last one year or so, number of patients of asthma to my clinic increased by some 15 to 20 percent," he said.
Zafar Fatmi, who participated in the research, said there's also a long-term risk of lung cancer.
Javed Akhtar Mallick, an oncologist at another hospital in Karachi, explained that hydrocarbons could have a carcinogenic effect if inhaled for an extended period.
A local environmentalist said the oil and chemicals used in the cleanup had affected marine along a 20km stretch of the coast.
Tahir Qureshi at the International Union for Conservation of Nature said it had reduced turtle populations, killing many of the reptiles that lay eggs on beaches near Karachi despite the nearby sprawling metropolis.
The contamination is also believed to have destroyed the turtles' foods, such as grasses and weeds, and probably forced them to migrate to other areas.
Qureshi claimed the government failed to undertake a sustained clean-up and to treat hydrocarbon deposits that settled beneath the sand.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese