Bengaluru: After floods caused by Cyclone Michaung, Chennai is now grappling with an oil spill – the entire extent of which has not yet been assessed, per sources.As floodwaters caused by Cyclone Michaung swirled into homes and buildings, oil from the state-run refinery Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) began leaking into Kosasthalaiyar river in north Chennai via the Buckingham Canal and storm drains on December 4, per reports. The spill has now spread into the Ennore estuary, a crucial nursery for fish that local communities depend on for their livelihoods, before flowing out into the sea, environmentalists told The Wire.While state government departments have now sprung into action to stem the damages, local communities are bearing the brunt, as is the environment. The CPCL has employed local fishermen to conduct the clean up – but they are using their bare hands to scoop out the floating toxic oil in plastic mugs, and with no access to any protective gear. People in villages near the oil spill are experiencing numerous physical symptoms due to exposure to the toxic oil and air, such as skin and eye irritation and giddiness. Fisherfolk also told The Wire that fish kills have occurred and birds too have been affected in both the river and estuary.As per the latest reports submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) is investigating both the CPCL as well as another industry in the area – Toshiba-JSW – since the latter had also not “handled” its used oil appropriately and could have also contributed to the oil spill into the Buckingham Canal. The TNPCB told the NGT on December 14 that 20 tonnes of oil-soaked soil has been removed from the area so far, as have 7,000 liters of oil mixed with water.First, denialBut first, there was denial. When Cyclone Michaung struck Chennai in early December, the people of north Chennai near Ennore were also affected: water swirled into homes, and there was no electricity. The floods, however, also caused an oil leakage into the Buckingham Canal. The oil moved downstream from there, and into the Kosasthalaiyar river. From here, the oil slick traveled further downstream with the current and into the Ennore estuary, before trailing away into the sea. Media reported that the oil spill had reached residential areas including Thiruvotriyur, Nettukuppam, and Ennorekuppam. Though residents pointed fingers at the CPCL specifically, it denied the allegations. Precious time – that could have been used to immediately stem the oil spread – was thus lost.Chennai oil spill. Photo: Suzhal Arivom.On December 7, the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal took suo moto cognisance of the issue after videos of the oil spill emerged on visual media, and issued a notice to the government of Tamil Nadu and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. The state government filed a report on December 9 in response. The NGT noted in the report that the executive engineer of the Water Resources Department “categorically stated that there is a serious threat to the life of the people and the marine organisms, aqua culture by loads of chemical effluents and waste oil spills which are clandestinely discharged into the Buckingham Canal at various places” including Kaatukuppam fishing village in Ennore. Per the report, the “water surface was filled with a thick oily substance and it is visible all along the Buckingham Canal for more than 5 Kms and also spread to Ennore Creek and Kosasthalaiyar River Mouth and Bay of Bengal”.“Considering the health of the residents, and also the flora and fauna and aquatic life”, the NGT also constituted a High-Level Committee comprising nine members including the Additional Chief Secretary to the government, chairman of the TNPCB, district collectors of Chennai and Thiruvallur districts and the Director of the Department of Fisheries, on the same day. It ordered that the Committee take immediate action to arrest the oil spread, and remove the oil from the affected areas. Oil spill spans across 20 sq km of sea“The committee shall also get the damage assessment undertaken and arrive at the funds required for remediation as well as compensation, if any,” the green court noted.A team of the state environment department led by the member-secretary of the TNPCB finally identified the CPCL as the source of the oil leakage, due to its poor management of storm water drains that are connected to the Buckingham Canal. Per The New Indian Express, the TNPCB has also asked the CPCL to implement urgent mitigation measures on priority; an impact study of affected fisherfolk families is underway and the state environment department is also assessing biodiversity loss in the area. On the same day, December 11, the TNPCB also ordered the CPCL to identify “hotspots” of oil spillage in the Buckingham Canal, Ennore estuary and the adjoining areas and take remedial measures immediately, reported Indian Express. The Coast Guard has estimated that the oil spill has trailed into the sea, covering around 20 square kilometers of open water, activist and environmentalist Nityanand Jayaraman, of the Vettiver Collective, told The Wire over phone. However, the extent – and impact – of the oil spill on the Kosasthalaiyar river into which it leaked from the Buckingham Canal, and the Ennore estuary, are still unassessed, Jayaraman added. “The estuary, which also has patches of mangrove cover, is crucial for fishermen because it serves as a nursery for fish,” he told The Wire. Moreover, sediments along the estuary have been coated with oil, he added. “It’s as good as running a bulldozer through the [fish] nursery.”The last oil spill that occurred off the Chennai coast – also off Ennore, but in the open sea – was in early 2017, when two oil tankers – the empty BW Maple and the oil-loaded Dawn Kancheepuram – collided. However, the 2017 spill is not comparable to the ongoing oil spill because the impacts caused in the river and the estuary are very different when compared to that seen in the open sea, said Jayaraman.People and the environment at riskFish kills have occurred in both the river and the estuary, said R.L. Srinivasan, a fisherman who hails from the nearby Kaatukuppam fishing village, which is one of the eight villages that have been affected by the oil spill. “The oil spill lies thick, like a wad of four tissue papers, on the river and the estuary,” he said. “Birds in the area too have been coated with the oil and seem to be affected.”As per e-Bird, a global citizen science platform of bird listings, Ennore creek is home to many birds as well including the spot-billed pelican (a species that is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species), and migratory species such as the whimbrel and the wood sandpiper, which visit the area in winters.“The Kosasthalaiyar now flows black, like a sewage drain,” added Srinivasan.Oil, pushed by water currents, has also accumulated in thick layers along the banks of the estuary where the currents are slower, both Srinivasan and Jayaraman noted.What was also obvious right away was the impact of the oil spill on the local communities in the area.“The oil spill is just a five minute-walk from my house,” Srinivasan told The Wire. The first three days of the spill – with no electricity to boot, due to Cyclone Michaung – were a nightmare, he said. Most people in his village complained of eye and skin irritation, as well as giddiness; older people had wheezing and breathing issues, the 43-year-old said. As the wind changed direction, there was some relief, Srinivsan said. But fishermen still have to wade through oil-covered waters to get their boats going. A thick layer of oil has also coated several boats, making it impossible to use them until they are cleaned. According to Jayaraman, boats belonging to four villages have been badly damaged this way.And anyway, there is no point going fishing; fish catch here reeks of oil.No protective gear for workers“We see that oil leaks occur now and then from industries upstream, but this time it has been very different because of the impact of the flood,” Srinivasan said. Though the CPCL was issued orders to clean up the oil, they employed fishermen to do it, Srinivasan said.“We know that the CPCL knows the impacts of the toxic oil on people, they do not let their staff handle it and instead make us do the dirty work,” Srinivasan said. “And they did not give the fishermen any protective gear to use while doing this either. In this era of technology, how can you say there are no machines to do this? This is pathetic.”2017 buckets! 2023 bathroom mugs! Its not ok to expose fishers who r victims of CPCLs oil pollution to more toxins in name of clean up. Is this SOP? @CMOTamilnadu Pls insist on PPEs/training for those engaged in spill response. No training. No safety. No dignity. 1/n pic.twitter.com/OphDxBOEl7— NityanandJayaraman (@NityJayaraman) December 12, 2023Protective gear is extremely important for any person engaging in cleaning up oil slicks, said Jayaraman. Fishermen are scooping out the oil with plastic mugs using their bare hands. This is extremely dangerous for the people involved, Jayaraman said. Ideally, people engaged in the clean-up should be given the right masks and gloves and other protective gear but this has not happened, he added.The work also has to be taken up in shifts to decrease the amount of time that each worker is exposed to the toxic air and oil. Another crucial aspect is that the work should be done only after giving workers detailed briefings on how to go about it and what risks to avoid while conducting the clean-up, said Jayaraman.“We have four ports in Chennai, no other city in India has so many,” Jayaraman told The Wire. “With four ports we don’t have the expertise to deal with oil spills and have to have manual scavengers doing the job? Why can’t we have mechanical devices sucking it out?”#EnnoreOilSpill response is turning an environmental disaster into an Occupational Health disaster. Not the way to handle hazwaste. Lack of protocol & preparedness exposing workers to toxic & physical hazards. Wrong masks, no coveralls, no protocol. Dangerous ad-hocism. 1/n pic.twitter.com/zFguwvLChu— NityanandJayaraman (@NityJayaraman) December 14, 2023Visuals of flood rescue workers wading through the oil-laced waters, and videos of floods waters containing oil flowing into houses near the Buckingham Canal were what prompted volunteers with Suzhal Arivom, a Chennai-based environmental group, to visit the area and look into it, said Deepak Venkatachalam, coordinator of the group. Their “rapid assessment” of the situation conducted in north Chennai’s affected areas on December 9 found that trails of oil were still coming from CPCL and that no action had been taken till then to arrest the spread of the oil into the river, estuary or sea, Venkatachalam told The Wire.‘We need proper systems in place’“The problem is that we don’t seem to have learnt from the experience in 2017,” said Venkatachalam. The 2017 oil spill off Ennore spread to the coast of southern Chennai and beyond – including the shores of Mahabalipuram and Kalpakkam – in less than a week, he said.“Since the northeast monsoon is in play, and water currents along the shore run north to south during this time, the oil spill will swiftly move south and affect the shores in areas south of Ennore once it reaches the sea,” said Venkatachalam. This bodes bad news for the Olive Ridley turtles that visit Tamil Nadu’s coasts – including the Marina and Elliot’s beaches in Chennai – to lay their eggs there, according to Venkatachalam. The IUCN Red List classifies Olive Ridleys as “vulnerable” due to a decreasing trend in their numbers worldwide. Chennai oil spill. Photo: Suzhal Arivom.While oil booms – temporary floating barriers made of plastic that can prevent the spread of the oil slick – are now in place, the delay may prove costly, Venkatachalam said. “It [deploying booms] was a simple, scientific and cost-effective step to take to control the oil spread but it was delayed,” said Venkatachalam. “Authorities need to work towards a faster response time to avoid such disasters in the future.”Similarly, the clean-up operation too has to be far more organized and efficient.While there is no paucity of people to clean up the oil spill, there is a definite drought of experts who know how to train people, help them understand the seriousness of the issue and get this done without putting people in harm’s way, said Jayaraman.“The way you respond to a disaster can’t be a disaster in itself,” he commented.Clean-up continues: 20 tonnes of oil-soaked soil removed, 7,000 liters of oil-laced waterEven 10 days after the first traces of oil were spotted in Kosasthalaiyar river and Ennore creek, there is still no assessment of how much oil has spilled into the area and trailed to the sea. According to The Indian Express, 75 boats and 300 people have now been pressed into the mitigation efforts to contain the oil spill, per a statement by Supriya Sahu, additional chief secretary of the Environment, Climate Change & Forests Department. Oil booms and an oil skimmer machine have also been deployed at the creek; four more oil skimmers will also be deployed soon, the report read.Srinivasan, meanwhile, has petitioned the Southern Bench of the NGT to ensure that authorities complete and clean all the impacted areas and dispose of the contaminated materials in accordance with the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, as well as provide necessary compensation to the impacted fishermen and restore the ecology and environment.An inspection by a team of the TNPCB revealed that they found “oil-mixed and oil slick stretches” from the CPCL to Ennore Creek, along a distance of 11 km, the Board reported to the NGT on December 11. Per the report, the TNPCB is also investigating another industry in the area – Toshiba-JSW – as it was found to have “not properly handled the waste oil/used oil which could have also caused discharge into the Buckingham Canal”.In its order dated December 12, the NGT noted that “the Government and CPCL take care” of the health and safety of the fishermen who have been pressed into service “by supplying safety gears like gloves, masks and any other safety equipment required for the same”.The NGT has also ordered the Fisheries Department to file a detailed report on the mass fish mortality recorded in the river and Ennore creek. “It is for the Fisheries Department to tell when it would be appropriate for fishermen to enter into the sea/backwaters as this oil spillage is reported to have affected the livelihood of the fishermen community,” the NGT noted.It also asked the state government to list the measures that they have taken to address the issue of the oil spill interfering with fisher’ livelihoods when the oil spill made it impossible for fisherfolk to head to the sea after the cyclone. On December 14, TNPCB told the NGT on December 14 that about 20 tonnes of oil-soaked soil has been removed so far. It also submitted that around 7,000 liters of oil and water has been recovered from the waters in Ennore creek. So far, 75 boats, one oil skimmer, and four JCBs are currently being used in the clean up process; 9,900 absorbent pads have also been used to absorb the oil from the water surface, the TNPCB reported to the NGT. Apart from using oil skimmers, ejectors, gully suckers as well as bio-dispersal sprays, the CPCL has pressed into service a Chennai-based agency that has expertise in oil spill management to clear the oil from the water surface; the company is also supposedly cleaning up homes and schools. The NGT has ordered the CPCL to complete the entire cleanup work before December 17.“In order to complete the work expeditiously, it is suggested that CPCL should deploy more machinery, material and personnel in the said operation in consultation with the experts,” the NGT’s Southern Bench of Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and Expert Member K. Satyagopal noted in the order dated December 14.The state government has also deployed a task force to study the impact of the oil spill on Olive Ridley turtles in the area, while IIT Madras will conduct a study to assess the impact of the oil spill on the environment, per the report.The NGT will now hear the matter on December 18.