About 82,000 liters of oil were overturned during their transfer to a barge on the Danube, about twenty kilometers from the Serbian capital, Belgrade, causing a risk of river pollution, confirmed the institute analyzing water samples at the France-Presse (AFP) agency, Thursday, April 24. The leak took place three days earlier, on Monday, at the refinery of the port of Pancevo, during an oil transfer to a barge of the Naftachem company.
According to the first findings of the local authorities, the spill would most likely result from human negligence. “It has been established that 82 cubic meters of Euro-Diesel have been poured, and the fuel is currently contained in a protective barrier surrounding the barge”said the Voivodine environmental protection secretariat, the region in which Pancevo is located. The prosecution has opened an investigation into the extent of pollution and its managers.
For the moment, “The technicians have collected samples on seven sites. Their analysis is underway “said Ljiljana Lazic, director of the Pancevo Public Health Institute, to AFP. Water pollution is endemic to Serbia where, according to official estimates, less than 15 % of wastewater is processed. The rest, as well as sewer waste, is poured directly into rivers and rivers.
Source: Lemonde