Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Ortam’ reports that the team from the Institute of Marine Sciences from the Middle East Technical University in Mersin, yesterday announced its report on the environmental impact of the Kalecik oil spill.
The team which was invited to North Cyprus by the TRNC’s ministry for tourism reported that the oil spill not only affected the sea coasts, but also the sea floor and the sea surface. The team gathered samples for assessment from 10 different points from the shores, approximately 10 km away from the area of the incident and from 11 different points from the sea. The oil spill was observed at least 13 km from the AKSA electrical power station.
According to the report, all the marine species, which were living within one kilometre from the incident in the rocks and in sand at the coast, have died. It is also observed that the impact of the oil spill continues eastward and partly reduces in the benthic zone*.
*The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers.
