Bituminous Coal Spill Affected Patache Port

Date: 2012/08/31

A bituminous coal spill which dimensions are still under study, was recorded in the Patache maritime terminal. The incident became known thanks to a neighbor's complaint of Chanavayita and mobilized maritime authority officials and municipality, in addition to Environment Seremi to evaluate the environmental assessment of the company.

The incident would have been recorded on Tuesday and a resident of Caleta Chanavayita went to maritime authority to inform what happened, explaining that the spill would have occurred during unloading tasks of the product performed by the MV JS Colorado.

Navy officials were in the place and could not appreciate anything, for this reason they requested the support of divers from the Maritime Authority of Iquique. The divers could establish that under the terminal there was an undetermined amount of bituminous coal in the seabed, They were able to settle that at least covered an area of 10 meters wide by 10 long, with a height of 3 meters.

By reason of the information regsitered by divers, and a complaint filed by the Environment Seremi, the Captain of the Port of Patache, 1st Lieutenant (LT) Alfredo Teixido, sanctioned the maritime terminal by a no authorized Spill of coal and ordered the company to take underwater filming and photos of the place before and after the respective cleaning as well as indicate the exact amount of runoff.

The UNAP academic Raúl Soto Mamani, who conducts studies of benthic fauna in the area of Patache and Patillos, explained that the main effects are produced by particles in suspension , "mainly affecting clams and some bivalves".

Explained that in the case of larger particles tends to decant material, however depending on the waves and currents these particles can move. "I have found coal particles in Patillos, although in that place there is no coal unloading."

Soto also said that main effects on wildlife are in their respiratory and digestive system because they are filter organisms

Soto clarified that mineral is neither harmful to people who works in the sector, nor for the rest of the population, as it is not an extraction area. "Although I don know which organisms inhabit the spill site."

Source: Diario La Estrella De Iquique