There is no evidence a barge accident that spilled more than 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel near a killer whale habitat in Canada has caused any damage or harmed the orcas, officials said. Dozens of Orcas were seen swimming through the fuel slick after a tanker truck with fuel fell off a barge Monday. But experts said Thursday they have observed no changes in the whales' behavior and no evidence of diesel residue on the shoreline."Yesterday's overflight observations and marine surveys showed a very, very light silver sheen, almost imperceptible and over a small percentage of the area," said Bruce Kaye, Environment Canada representative on the regional and environmental emergency team.A survey of four area sites found no visible oil nor fuel smell, and poking the sea bottom in the tidal area released no oil from the sediment, he said."There's no visible effect of the incident on the whales' patterns of use of the area or their detailed behavior patterns — their foraging routines and so on," said John Ford, a marine mammal scientist with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans.Since diesel is a light fuel, coating is not an issue, but a main health concern would be inhalation of diesel vapors near the water line as the fuel evaporates, he said.Ford estimated that about 95 percent of the slick had evaporated by Thursday afternoon. A cleanup crew also was working at the scene.The cause of the accident is under investigation.
No comments:
Post a Comment