ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS: ‘We need to draw a line in the sand’
By MAX KAPLAN-ZANTOPP FEBRUARY 25, 2021
The scene at Hof Hasharon beach on Tuesday was nothing short of heartbreaking. A beautiful landscape tarnished with countless dark bits of tar scattered across the sand and rocky shore.“
I’m really trying to get my head around it because it’s really difficult to gather all the tar, so I’ve just been taking it by hand and making these huge balls, and when they get too heavy, I put them in the bag and do it all again,” said Yonatan Bari, one of the hundreds of volunteers on the beach collecting tar off the rocky shore.
“But for all the tar on the rocks, there’s really no way all this stuff will be collected. It feels impossible,” he added.
That was the result this week after the country has found itself in the middle of an almost unprecedented ecological disaster. On February 17, hundreds of tons of tar were pushed ashore due to inclement weather, coating approximately 160 km. out of the 190 km. of Israel’s Mediterranean coast. Sea turtles, marine birds and endangered marine mammals were some of the wildlife that have perished or have been affected by the spill.
The Environmental Protection Ministry estimates the oil spill occurred more than 50 km. off the coast of Israel, outside its territorial waters. Not only will the waters and rocky shores be arduously difficult to clean, but the oil spill event will also continue to corrupt the Mediterranean’s natural marine ecosystem for many years to come due to the widespread nature of the incident.
After lighter, volatile components of crude oil evaporate, part of the remainder of it is left to mix with the water, forming an emulsion that is thicker and stickier than its original form. The recent stormy weather generated wind and waves that stretched and tore the patches of oil into smaller pieces, or tar balls, which were carried to the shoreline. Because tar is unstable when heated, it becomes a viscous consistency when it is exposed to the sun, thus lengthening its pollutive effect on the environment.
“Tar is a dangerous substance. The event will not end in the next few days, so we are preparing for long and hard work. Engineering tools will not be useful, so tar will have to be removed by hand,” said Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel.