PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is urgently removing all oil waste containers and equipment from the oil-stained Ao Phrao beach before inspecting and reviving the ecological system in the area.
PTTGC, who is responsible for the recent oil spill in Rayong province, said it would start surveying effects on the ecological system of the beach immediately after the clean-up. An executive of the company confirmed that PTTGC was ready to listen to opinions of all sectors, with the Rayong provincial administration acting as coordinator.
The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources will send divers to survey undersea conditions of Ao Phrao next week after it found that the corals there were covered with mucus. As for the problem of oil residue seeping more than 10 centimeters deep into the sand, the Department of Pollution Control will cooperate with the private sector in finding an effective solution. It is expected to take longer than a year to restore the purity of the sand.
[mappress]
Press Release, August 6, 2013