'Cyanide on seabed not a risk'
Copyright 2000 The National (PNG)
December 14, 2000
By BREMEBIL KUBLE
AN ESTIMATED 260,000kg of cyanide in metal drums that had sunk with a barge near the mouth of the Fly River is of no significant risk to the marine life, said Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) managing director Dr Roger Higgins.
Speaking from his office in Tabubil yesterday, he said: "We think there is no significant risk at all."
He said when the incident occurred in 1984, a collective decision was made, based on expert advice, not to salvage the drums for fear of spillage.
Dr Higgins, who was personally involved in the operation then, said the best thing to do then was to leave them there, and the decision not to take the risk was made by Pacific Salvage, Ok Tedi environmental officers and the cyanide producers who were at Ok Tedi at that time.
"It was a fruitful decision, a careful one, and not a walk-away," he added.
Dr Higgins said for many years since 1984 Ok Tedi environmental experts have been monitoring the delta and the mouth of the Fly and have observed no signs of any cyanide spill.
He agreed with what Australia National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology deputy director Barry Noller had said earlier this week, that a slow leak would result in dilution of the cyanide to almost undetectable levels.
Dr Higgins said the barge owned by Steamships Shipping was caught in rough seas at the mouth of the Fly River, about 1,000km from Ok Tedi and sank with the shipment of the lethal cargo.
He said the shipment was in the hands of Steamships Shipping and not OTML.
However, he said both OTML, Steamships and Pacific Salvage were working closely in trying to retrieve the sunken containers.
"I was involved in the 1984 operation to try to salvage those drums. Only a small portion of several thousands were recovered," he said.
Dr Higgins at that time was the senior environmental officer on the ground.
He said to put on record there were 2,700 cyanide drums, of which 120 were salvaged. The drums were metal and were locked in metal containers before the incident.
Meanwhile, the Lower Fly Resource Owners Association (LFROA) chairman Dr Bob Danaya said legal advice has been sought to sue BHP for damage to the environment along the Lower Fly area.
The LFROA has taken into consideration the possible spillage of cyanide and the other damage done to the environment through the Ok Tedi mine operations in the Upper Fly area.
"We have no idea whether there is any leakage to the river system," he said, when referring to the possibility of cyanide spillage.
He said a delegate from the Lower Fly area will discuss the mine's impact on the environment with the Mining Minister, Michael Laimo next week.