El gráfico muestra el sitio de hundimiento del X-Press Pearl y la franja de línea costera de Sri Lanka donde se ha suspendido la actividad pesquera.
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AMBIENTE

Sri Lanka se prepara para un desastre ambiental

By Jordi Bou

June 3, 2021 - Sri Lanka se está preparando para la posibilidad de un derrame petrolero luego que un buque carguero que transportaba sustancias químicas se hundió frente a su costa occidental.

The Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl, carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid along with other chemicals and cosmetics, was anchored off Sri Lanka's west coast when a fire erupted onboard after an explosion on May 20.

The ship’s operators X-Press Feeders have said the fire destroyed most of the ship’s cargo, which included 25 tons of nitric acid and other chemicals. But there are fears that remaining chemicals as well as hundreds of tons of oil from the vessel’s fuel tanks could leak into the sea.

Such a disaster could devastate marine life and further pollute the island nation’s famed beaches. The disaster has already caused debris, including several tons of plastic pellets used to make plastic bags, to wash a ashore.

The government already has banned fishing along about 80 kilometres of coastline.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 03/06/2021; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Newscom
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