Cape Town - The smell of diesel lingered in the air after a fuel spill from the Astron Energy oil refinery in Milnerton.
The spill reached Table Bay Nature Reserve’s sensitive waterways and has been deadly for some wildlife at the reserve with four oiled birds now dead.
The company has been criticised for its lack of preparedness relating to the impact on wildlife when it operates in the vicinity of rich biodiversity and sensitive ecosystems.
On Tuesday last week, the City’s biodiversity management branch was made aware of the diesel spill and various City response personnel were activated, while Astron Energy appointed a spill response contractor who was tasked with spill mitigation and clean-up efforts.
Deputy mayor and spatial planning and environment Mayco member, Eddie Andrews, said that by the time the spill source was secured, a substantial amount of fuel (diesel) had unfortunately entered the stormwater infrastructure feeding the Theo Marais Canal, which flows into the Table Bay Nature Reserve’s waterways.
“The teams will continue to monitor the site this week… Any loss of biodiversity due to an incident like this is unacceptable,” Andrews said.
Caroline Marx, head of the environmental portfolio for Milnerton Central Residents Association, and a member of the Astron community advisory panel, said they were not informed of the spill despite frequently requesting they be notified of any incident at the plant that could impact the community.
“A local resident noticed a petrochemical smell, visible pollution, and a contaminated bird and followed up with the City’s nature conservation officer.
“Astron’s response (was) that they had forgotten to send the notification to the panel members, (which) is not acceptable given that there have been several previous spillages,” Marx said.
Charl van der Merwe was the resident who alerted the community to the incident on Thursday, after receiving a call about two birds in need of attention.
It was only after this and liaison with the reserve manager that the community and the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) became aware of the diesel spill.
David Roberts, clinical vet at Sanccob, said: “Two common moorhens and two red-knobbed coots died after being brought to Sanccob. Two of the four birds admitted to Sanccob were severely compromised. They were suffering and were immediately euthanised; the other two died at Sanccob.”
Roberts said it was difficult to save birds affected by diesel and the damage caused to the ecosystem and the effects on other wildlife have not yet been fully evaluated but are likely to be far greater than the death of the four birds reported to date.
Nicky Stander, head of conservation at Sanccob, said: “The recent diesel pollution spill caused by Astron Energy highlights their lack of preparedness relating to wildlife response.”
Sanccob, Table Bay Nature Reserve rangers and the City are carrying out regular patrols to seek out affected wildlife, including an after-hours response team on Saturday and Sunday, and were deeply concerned about wildlife that cannot be reached because of the dense reeds in the reserve.
Astron Energy confirmed a diesel spill was detected at a switch station on Astron Energy’s pipeline near the corner of Koeberg and Tanzanite roads in Milnerton; the initial incident was contained, and the immediate area had been cleaned up.
Astron Energy spokesperson Suzanne Pullinger said: “Our response team immediately put containment measures in place, including barriers and absorption booms to deal with any residual impact of the spill.
“Clean-up operations of the affected areas have been conducted and we continue to monitor the situation Our first priority is the health, safety and well-being of all our employees, contractors, broader refinery community, and the environment.”
kristin.engel@inl.co.za