Large quantities of mazut leaked into the River Nile after a main oil pipeline ruptured. Reem Leila tracks the spill An oil slick was discovered floating on the River Nile on 14 July near the districts of Manial and Helwan, resulting in highly polluting the water and causing three water refineries to suspend operations. The spill, which covered an area of two kilometres, was spotted at different locations due to a leak in the main pipeline of the Helwan Cement Company (HCC). Immediately after the leak, authorities stepped in to stop the spread of the mazut spot (a heavy low quality fuel oil used in generating plants and similar applications) and clean up the Nile. Floating barriers, sand walls, iron fences and rice hay were released to absorb the spill and prevent it from spreading to other parts of the river. The River Nile extends for more than 1,600km with two main branches downstream, and discharges into the Mediterranean Sea with many small branches and canals covering a large area in the northern region of the country. It supplies 96 per cent of Egypt's water needs, hence there is a dire need to maintain its cleanliness. Although environment and water officials insist the river water is now safe, and that all water refinery stations are currently operating, water and environment experts disagree. According to ecologist Samer El-Mufti, the oil spill would take up to one month or even more to dissolve, and current analysis shows very high rates of water pollution in the affected areas. The dissolution of the slick depends on its size and the water cycle, El-Mufti added. He noted that both the colour and smell of the water have changed, which is likely to affect the living organisms in the river. Most Egyptians acquire their daily water consumption from the Nile, and the spill has now made the water in many areas undrinkable, possibly even after refinement. El-Mufti revealed that the size of the leak is worrisome, adding that this is the first of its kind in the River Nile and that the wind could help spread the unseen particles of the pollutants to other areas. An HCC press release on 16 July denied responsibility for the leak. "HCC would like to clarify that the pipeline, which is 600 metres away from the plant, does not belong to the company and that the company is by no means responsible for this accident," stated the release. "However, as a responsible corporation, the Helwan Cement plant supported local authorities in cleaning up the area of Kafr Al-Elw in Helwan by providing pumps, trucks and fire- fighting equipment." HCC Chairman Omar Abdel-Aziz Mehanna explained that the leak occurred when Misr Petroleum Pipelines Company tried to separate an unused pipeline supplying HCC with mazut from one which is currently in use. Mehanna added that his company has already filed a police report about the incident, emphasising that it has already been harmed by the consequences of the spill. Hussein El-Atfi, official spokesman for the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, gave assurances that the leakage had not affected the quality of drinking water. El-Atfi claimed that the speed of Nile water has broken down and already flushed away the oil spill to the Mediterranean. "The quality of Nile water has shown improvement since the leak," contended El-Atfi. But Abel-Aziz El-Guindi, former head of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), disagrees, saying that methods used to clean up the slick are "primitive". El-Guindi believes that the measures in use do not do the job well and leave hazardous contaminants in the water course for many weeks. Since mazut is an oil with a very complex mixture of many different chemicals, the effects of an oil spill on the Nile environment is extremely hazardous. He clarified that some components of mazut have a tendency to vapourise, others bind to solids, while some interact with light. "Hence, it has different toxicological effects on aquatic life, and consequently on human life," El-Guindi asserted. Gamila Hussein, a biologist at the Water Pollution Research Department of the National Research Centre described the methods used by officials to clean up oil slicks as "defective and could harm the river's living organisms". Hussein detailed how a number of microscopic algae species found in the River Nile can grow on oil, breaking it down and releasing carbon dioxide and water. According to her, these algae have a potential to decontaminate areas affected by oil spills. In contrast, conventional clean-up methods are costly, difficult to implement and result in industrial waste. Hussein believes that using algae is "an important step in identifying a natural, simple, effective, fast, cheap, safe, and long-term technology to reduce heavy metal pollution and remedying crude oil contaminated sites." She suggested that genetically modifying the algae enhances their ability to bind with and break down toxic chemicals found in oil, and highlighted the importance of such approaches in the Middle East. For example, approximately eight million barrels of oil were spilled during the 1991 Gulf War, and oil slicks resulting from the destruction of oil tankers, wells and pipelines are still frequent in Iraq. "Microscopic algae species were used to get rid of the oil which covered Iraqi waters at that time," revealed Hussein.
