PUCP to provide support to remedy the environmental disaster caused by the oil spill in Ventanilla

In the days following the La Pampilla refinery crude oil spill into the sea off Ventanilla on 16 January, the extent of the environmental disaster was unclear. To see it first hand, on Wednesday 19, researchers from the Peruvian Network of Life Cycle and Industrial Ecology (Pelcan) of the PUCP Dr Ian Vázquez, Dr Ramzy Kahhat, Mag. Alejandro Deville and Eizo Muñoz went to the Costa Azul and Cavero beaches. "Our intention was to understand what had happened and to be able to help. To do this, we gathered information through photos, observation and conversation with the people," says Kahhat, who is also director of the Environmental and Sustainable Engineering programme at PUCP.

What they found was that the clean-up of the aforementioned beaches was carried out with rudimentary means, such as shovels and dustpans, and that there were few people. Later, on Friday 21, our investigators went to the same beaches, as well as to those of Ancón and Santa Rosa, where, thanks to drones, they took aerial shots in order to assess in more detail the magnitude of the disaster offshore. Vázquez points out that it was only on Saturday 22nd that he saw that more appropriate technology, such as skimmers, was being used.

"The spill that happened is somewhat related to a project we have about plastics ending up in the sea. So we had some funding to be able to do the visits," says Kahhat. Pelcan has also been doing op-eds and webinars with international guests on the topic. "Our goal is to use the information collected to identify direct and indirect environmental impacts," says Vazquez.

Support and collaboration of the PUCP with SERNANP

At the same time, researchers from the Pelcan group and other PUCP groups began to collaborate this week with the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (SERNANP), a body attached to the Ministry of Environment, in order to support activities to characterise the quality of water, soil and sediment in the affected area, as well as diagnostic work on the damage to local fauna. This action is part of the technical and scientific support and response that the PUCP has been offering to the government.

Our University, through the Academic Direction of Social Responsibility (DARS), contacted Premier Mirtha Vásquez on 20 January, who referred us to the Ministry of the Environment to coordinate how we could help. In parallel, together with the Directorate of Research Promotion of our Vice-Rectorate for Research, a directory of PUCP environmental experts was put together.

In this context, the DARS and the Institute for Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE-PUCP) established a multidisciplinary working group with the participation of the specialists in waste management and marine plastics Ian Vázquez - who leads the group - and Dr. Ramzy Kahhat; the electronic engineer and director of the Master in Control and Automation Engineering, Mag. Francisco Cuéllar; the researcher of the Pelcan Group and INTE - PUCP Dr. Isabel Quispe; and the lawyer and director of the Master in Human Rights, Dr. Patricia Urteaga.

On Thursday 27th, the PUCP Working Group, together with other specialists from our University, held a virtual meeting with members of SERNANP in order to concretise the support. There they coordinated collaboration in lines of action such as environmental law, technical support or execution of laboratory work, toxicological tests, characterisation of the coastline and the possibility of using equipment for thermal measurement of local fauna, among other aspects.

Immediate action

Since 21 January, the Institute of Nature, Earth and Energy (INTE-PUCP) and our Academic Direction of Social Responsibility (DARS) issued a statement, which mentioned the implications of the spill, its consequences and suggested actions to be taken. Subsequently, the PUCP, together with the other universities that are also members of the Consortium of Universities (Universidad del Pacífico, Universidad de Lima and Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia), issued a communiqué calling for action to be taken.

"At times like these, academia has to combine a sense of urgency - to respond quickly from our institutional resources - with a sense of opportunity, in order to work on medium and long-term issues, such as environmental management and sustainability," says Dr Silvana Vargas, director of the DARS. In this sense, university social responsibility plays a key role. "The RSU is an expression of the university's ethical commitment to the country, particularly in circumstances where training, research and links with the environment come to the fore," adds Vargas.

Cleaning methods and technologies

On the technologies and methods to contain and remediate an oil spill at sea, Dr. Kahhat says the first is to use booms . These consist of a series of buoys linked together to create an encirclement that prevents the pollutant from spreading.

Also important is the use of skimmers, mechanical pumping tools that suck up oil from the sea and accumulate it in a container. " Skimmers should have been deployed immediately on the day of the spill. Also, according to what I saw on my visits, they were being used more on land rather than going with a fleet of ships out to sea and attacking the oil slick from the ocean itself," says Vázquez.

Another option is dispersant, a chemical solution that allows the oil to mix with the water and thus prevent it from adhering to the body, for example to bird feathers and rocks. However, Kahhat stresses that dispersants are not recommended for all marine areas, and should not be toxic to the ecosystem and people.

What Pelcan researchers do point out that they have seen being used in other similar disasters are sorbents. This technology is a kind of long cylinder that, like a sponge, absorbs the oil. One method suggested by Kahhat is biological, which takes advantage of micro-organisms, which help speed up biological remediation in these cases.

"The use of mechanical methods (such as booms and skimmers ), appropriate dispersants and bioremediation is a highly effective combination to remediate an oil spill in marine areas. The technology exists, what surprises me is that the big solution has been the dustpan, bucket and spade," Kahhat emphasises. In addition, our teachers note that during their visits they observed that the people working on the clean-up did not have the proper protective clothing.

Lessons learned

Cases such as these make us realise how important it is to make a firm commitment to training and scientific research. In this sense, the role of universities is fundamental. "Today there is a lack of professionals/researchers who could provide support," says Kahhat. Vázquez adds: "As it is not a very common event, there are not so many specialists. Therefore, we must have the capacity to articulate teams from related areas that can provide support.

For the two Pelcan researchers, the spill is a good moment for us to realise that our sea has long been polluted by plastic, which comes from oil. " It is a great opportunity not only to clean up the oil slick, but also to generate a more comprehensive response, so that we have a healthier and more attractive coastline," says Vázquez. Let's hope that in the near future Pelcan's researchers and all Peruvians will be able to go to our beaches to enjoy them responsibly and see them in all their splendour.

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