Oil Spill Blackens Parts of Southern Israel
A massive oil spill near an Israeli nature preserve has become the worst environmental disaster in that country’s history.
More than 1.3 million gallons of crude oil polluted an area near the Gulf of Aqaba port of Eilat after a break occurred earlier this month in the 153-mile Trans-Israel pipeline.
More than 80 people in the area were hospitalized from inhaling benzene fumes generated by evaporation of the oil.
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) says it has attempted to keep birds from the spill area, but warns it could take years for all of the pollution to be removed.
“We don’t have experience with something of this scale,” said INPA spokeswoman Tali Tenenbaum. Her agency warned that any rainfall could quickly spread the disaster.
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