BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

26/03/2007

Diesel from Belarusian spill hits Latvia

Riga (eCanadaNow) - Diesel which spilled into the river Daugava from a burst pipeline in Belarus on Friday night reached Latvia on Monday, officials confirmed.

"The diesel has crossed the border and is now in the Kraslava region (of eastern Latvia). All possible forces are on the way to the area to help the prevention work," Inese Veisa, spokeswoman for the Latvian fire brigade, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Reports from the river bank indicate that around 30 per cent of the river's width has been affected by the spill, she added. However, experts say the total volume of diesel which has reached Latvia is likely to be small.

"Diesel spreads out very widely on water, so one drop can cover a huge area. The visual impact is immense, but we don't think there is a large volume in the river," said Vilis Avotins, head of the Latvian environmental protection agency.

"The spill stretches about ten kilometres between Kraslava and (Latvia's second city) Daugavpils. If this were the swimming season, it might present a health hazard, but at the moment, we don't think it's a big danger," he added.

The initial spill, estimated at more than 100 tons of diesel, happened on Friday evening in the Vitebsk region of western Belarus, when a section of pipeline leading to the Latvian port of Ventspils burst and began spilling diesel into the ground.

Belarusian rescue services managed to contain much of the spill, but by mid-afternoon on Saturday an unknown quantity had flowed into the Ulla river, Interfax reported. Approximately 1.2 hectares of land were also contaminated, the wire added.

The Ulla is a tributary of the Daugava, which flows into Latvia 60 km east of Daugavpils. It then runs 220 km north-west to Riga, before reaching the Gulf of Riga - an offshoot of the Baltic sea.

Initial attempts by Latvian rescue services to place preventive booms across the river at the border were hampered by high water levels and rapid currents. Efforts have now shifted to Daugavpils, where a major bridge crosses the river.

The diesel is expected to reach the town late on Monday or early on Tuesday, Avotins added.

Neither Daugavpils nor Riga is likely to suffer contamination to their water supply, however. Daugavpils' water does not come from the river, while Riga lies downstream of a major dam, Avotins said.

"We're warning people not to take water from the river for domestic purposes, but even then, diesel isn't a serious poison - it's more unpleasant," he said.

Latvia and Belarus are linked by Soviet-era pipelines built to carry Russian oil to the ports of the Baltic. However, much of the infrastructure is ageing and in need of repair.

Last summer Russia closed its crude-oil pipeline to Lithuania after a leak. The pipe has not yet reopened.

c 2007 DPA

Source:

http://www.ecanadanow.com/world/2007/03/26/diesel-from-belarusian-spill-hits-latvia/