Phenol spill: Second in 10 months

Twice in a year, chemical spills have hit fish farms off Pulau Ubin. CHONG CHEE KIN and ALVIN CHIANG find out how the latest spill has affected the farms and whether holiday-makers are heeding advice to stay out of the water at Pulau Ubin, Pasir Ris, Punggol and Changi.

By CHONG CHEE KIN
and ALVIN CHIANG

Indonesian tanker Endah Lestari capsized shortly afte leaving Johor port on Wednesday, spilling phenol into the sea.--THE STAR

WEDNESDAY'S chemical spill is the second in 10 months to hit the floating fish farms off Pulau Ubin.

The other happened last August when the Indonesian tanker Hikari II and the Dutch-registered dredger Volvox Delta collided south of Pulau Ubin, spilling 230 tonnes of phenol.

The pink toxic chemical, used as a general industrial disinfectant, is corrosive, but dissolves in water over time.

But a person can get skin irritations if he comes into contact with phenol dissolved in sea water.

Hit yet again by the chemical spill, Mr Ng hauled up more than 150 kg of dead fish yesterday afternoon. He estimates his current loss to be at $6,000. The earlier spill in August had already cost him $10,000, but he estimates the present one to be worse. His farm is one of the 37 floating fish farms off Pulau Ubin and Serangoon that have been affected by yesterday's suspension of the sale and harvesting of fish.--JOYCE FANG

This time round, at least one Singapore farm has already been hit - Mr Ng Nyin Leong's farm, which is about 500 m from the capsized vessel.

Mr Ng said: 'We hauled up more than 150 kg of dead fish this afternoon and the others are dying very quickly.

'Last August's incident cost us about $10,000, but I think the current spill will turn out to be worse'.

He estimates his losses at $6,000 so far.

Three of the fish farmers who operate off Pulau Ubin told The Straits Times they had yet to be compensated for the losses suffered from the earlier incident.

Mr Yeo Kiah Hong, 51, who breeds sea bass and garoupa, said work had to stop for three months after the phenol contaminated the water last August.

Notices like these, warning beach-goers against swimming and fishing, have been put up at Pulau Ubin by the Environment Ministry. Phenol, the chemical spilled from the tanker, is an industrial that causes skin irritation. It is biodegradable and breaks down in the sea over time.--JOYCE FANG

'The water and the roe were affected and I couldn't breed any fish at all,' he said.

After assessing his losses, he sued the Dutch owners of the Volvox Delta for over $100,000 in April this year. The suit has not been settled.

Said Mr Yeo: 'This is a serious environmental issue because two chemical spills involving Indonesian vessels have happened in less than a year. Something needs to be done.'

Other farmers said they would wait and see.

Said Mr Freddy Leong: 'None of my fish have died so far. But I don't know if this will still be the case in a few days.

'I can't decide how to reduce my losses until I find out what is going to happen.'

The spill comes in the middle of the school holidays, when Pulau Ubin is teeming with visitors.

Twelve-year-old Conan Teo, who said he went swimming with friends on Wednesday afternoon, said they all knew they had to stay out of the water now.

He said: 'This morning, officials from the Environment Ministry (ENV) came to put up several signs to warn people not to swim in the sea.

'They also informed us about the chemical spill and advised us to remain on land.'

ENV said as a precaution, people should not fish or go into the water at Pulau Ubin, Pasir Ris, Punggol or Changi until further notice.

It explained that during salvage operations, there was still a risk that more phenol might leak from the damaged tanker.

Call the ENV hotline on 1800-731-9222.