Oil spillage sparks beach clean

A beach clean up is underway off the Merseyside coast after an oil spillage from a rig in the Irish Sea.

The spillage contaminated a mile long stretch near Formby Point and people are being asked to avoid the beach.

A spokesman for BHP Billiton said a small quantity of oil was released from the Lennox platform, about five miles offshore from Ainsdale.

Droplets of oil were found on the beach about a mile north of Formby Point by the firm's incident response team.

A statement from the company, which apologised for the incident, said: "We are working actively to minimise any impact on the beach and the marine environment.

"Whilst this work is in progress, it is advised that the public avoid the area to allow the work to be completed efficiently."

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the leak.

Source: BBC NEWS | Merseyside (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/4959630.stm)

:eek:

How ironic is that I was only there last night admiring the beautiful Formby point,I'm sure it won't affect the area too much but it's not good news is it.:sad:

Trust closes oil spillage beach

A beach contaminated by an oil spillage from a rig in the Irish Sea has been closed to the public.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41622000/jpg/_41622554_oilspill203.jpg
The beach has been closed

The National Trust said the mile-long stretch near Formby Point, Merseyside, would be closed until further notice while the clean up continued.

Crude oil was released from the Lennox platform, about five miles from Ainsdale, at the weekend.

Droplets of oil were found on the beach about a mile north of Formby Point by an incident response team from the rig.

A National Trust spokeswoman said: "The spill has come ashore in patches along the coast. It appears as dark brown sand in a band approximately 30cm in width.

Crude oil

"If trodden on, black crude oil then appears underfoot."

She said not enough oil had been spilled to cause danger to wildlife or vegetation.

It was being scooped into bin bags and taken to a collection point where it will be held safely until Tuesday when skips will remove it for disposal.

The spokeswoman said the clean up was expected to last two days and would depend on whether oil continued to be washed ashore by the high spring tides.

The rig's operators BHP Billiton are investigating the leak's cause.

Source: BBC NEWS | Merseyside (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/4961796.stm)

"She said not enough oil had been spilled to cause danger to wildlife or vegetation."


That's a bit of a relief actually because there's some really rare species along that coastline,Merseyside has its very own race of Sand Lizard,they're slightly different to the ones found anywhere else so our ones are unique,we can't afford to endanger them,they're ours.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

The beach seems to be open to the public again now and everything is expected to be cleared up within two weeks.:PDT_Piratz_26: