[FAIR USE FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH PURPOSE ONLY]

Title: Oil Pollution in North Angola Sends 700 People into Hospital

Story Filed: Wednesday, March 22, 2000 8:20 AM EST

LUANDA (March 22) XINHUA - More than 700 people, nine of them in critical condition, have been sent to hospitals here for treatment as a result of serious pollution caused by crude oil in the northern province of Cabinda, Angola.

The Angola Daily newspaper reported on Wednesday that all these patients, with symptoms including vomiting, abdominal pain, throat burn and cough, are residents from the Futilla village near the Malongo Oilfield. Some the them even had a high fever and were short of breath.

Preliminary diagnosis indicated that they may have fallen ill as a result of poisonous gas and oil-contaminated water and fish.

According to the report, the local authorities and Cabinda Golf Oil Company (CABGOC), a subordinate of the U.S. company Chevron, have formed a joint health group to probe the matter.

It is said that oil pollution is a common occurrence in the area, especially in the Futilla village, where many people have been found to suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, skin inflammation and cough.

More than 40 barrels of crude oil were leaked from a CABGOC offshore oil well early this January, throwing the surrounding waters and coast area into serious pollution. The local authorities had to close parts of the seabeach and ban the fishermen from going out for fishing, leading to great economic loss for the area.

Angola, with a production capacity of 750,000 barrels per day, is the second largest oil producer in Africa, next to Nigeria. The Cabinda province accounts for more than half of Angola's oil production.

In recent years, oil exploration and production in Angola has developed quickly due to the inflow of large amount of foreign capital. However, environmentalists are becoming more and more concerned over the pollution problem caused by these activities.

Copyright ) 2000, Xinhua News Agency, all rights reserved.

http://library.northernlight.com/FB20000322170000244.html?cb=200&dx=2006&sc=0#doc

-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), March 22, 2000

Answers

Chevron Claims Responsibility for Angola Oil Pollution

Story Filed: Thursday, March 23, 2000 9:13 AM EST

LUANDA (March 23) XINHUA - The U.S. company Chevron has said that it will take responsibility for the recent crude oil pollution in the northern province of Cabinda, Angola, where more than 70 people were sent to hospitals as a result of poisoning.

The Angola Daily newspaper Thursday quoted Cabinda Golf Oil Company (CABGOC), a subordinate of Chevron, as saying that the company will take measures to clean all the polluted seabeach and pay for the treatment and recovery expenses of the victims.

However, as to the indirect losses caused by the accident, the company only said it may consider to compensate.

It is reported that many residents in the Futilla village near the Malongo Oilfield have recently been found with symptoms including vomiting, abdominal pain, throat burn and cough. Nine of them, with high fever and short of breath, have been sent to the capital city of Luanda for treatment.

Preliminary diagnosis indicated that they may have fallen ill as a result of poisonous gas and oil-contaminated water and fish.

More than 40 barrels of crude oil were leaked from a CABGOC offshore oil well early this January, throwing the surrounding waters and coast area into serious pollution. The local authorities had to close parts of the seabeach and ban the fishermen from going out for fishing, leading to great economic loss for the area.

It is said that oil pollution is a common occurrence in the area, especially in the Futilla village, where many people have been found to suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, skin inflammation and cough.

Angola, with a production capacity of 750,000 barrels per day, is the second largest oil producer in Africa, next to Nigeria. The Cabinda province accounts for more than half of Angola's oil production.

In recent years, oil exploration and production in Angola has developed quickly due to the inflow of large amount of foreign capital. However, environmentalists are becoming more and more concerned over the pollution problem caused by these activities.

Copyright ) 2000, Xinhua News Agency, all rights reserved.

-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), March 23, 2000.