LUKOIL NEFTOCHIM WILL BE IMPOSED A FINE BECAUSE OF THE PETROL SPILL NEAR BOURGAS

The company Lukoil Neftochim will be imposed a huge fine because of the petrol spill near ‘Dolno Ezerovo’ suburb in the Bulgarian Black Sea coastal city of Bourgas, Bulgaria’s Environment Minister Ivelina Vassileva said on 18th of June.She added that the size of the sanction would be further specified after assessment of the affected areas.

Between 10 and 30 tonnes of petrol spilled late on 17th of June after a rupture in a product pipeline of LUKOIL's Neftochim Bourgas refinery. The region is still zoned off. Teams of the fire department and specialists from the refinery are working to remove the pollution.

Although the pumping out has been going on for approximately 18 hours, there is still a layer of 1 centimetre of petrol on the water surface of Chakyrliiska River and the buffer strip of Lake Vaya. Environment Minister Ivelina Vassileva arrived on the site of the spill incident to coordinate the work of the cleaning teams and the experts which every hour take samples to measure the pollution.

The environmental inspectors are waiting for the results of the chemical analysis to determine the degree of contamination.

The size of the fine will be calculated based on the results of the taken samples. The sanction will be applied to the fullest extent of the law, said minister Vassileva.

The results from measuring the air quality in ‘Dolno Ezerovo’ suburb show there are no pollutant gases, the environmental experts from Bourgas said. There is a high concentration of petrol vapours on the site of the leak and traffic in the area is not allowed.

The authorities are investigating a scenario according to which the cause of the spill is an illegal tap fixed to the pipeline. The police has also started an investigation.