The Provincial Delegate for Huelva for the Junta de Andalucía, Bella Verano, activated the coastal contamination protocol yesterday afternoon.

The Plan de Emergencia ante el Riesgo de Contaminación del Litoral (PECLA) was put into motion owing to the appearance of a small oil spill discovered on beaches between Mazagón and Matalascañas.

This Andalusian protocol is designed to prevent, or at the very least mitigate, the consequences of an accident involving dangerous substances and their adverse effect on people and the environment.

First thing in the morning the Guardería del Parque Nacional de Doñana called 112 to inform them that they had come across patches of oil washed up  on the beaches between the towns of Mazagón and Matalascañas, within the district of Almonte. More specifically, between Cuesta Maneli and near Chiringuito Pichilín, strung out along approximately two kilometres of the shore.

Experts described the patches of oil as “slight” and could be cleared up with normal beach-cleaning measures.

The origin of the slick is not known although it could be related to a slick discovered this weekend, which was reported by Salvamento Marítimo on Saturday the 17th around 18.15h. They had come across an oil slick some 200 metres in length.

As the discharged oil was on the surface of the sea, it was the Autoridad Portuaria (Port Authorities) who activated the Plan Interior Marítimo. On Sunday, the Harbour Master’s Office said that a small amount had come from the port. Work continued over the weekend to eliminate this oil slick.

In other words, the oil washed up on the beaches could be the remains of the oil slick located on the sea left over from clean-up operation.

(News: Huelva, Andalucia)