EPD investigates mysterious black liquid near Teknecik

THE Environmental Protection Department has launched an investigation after a newspaper splashed pictures on its front page of a mysterious substance spilling out from a pipe at the Teknecik power plant.

Cyprus Today’s sister newspaper, Kıbrıs, published photos yesterday appearing to show the pipe discharging into a pool of “black liquid” — claimed to be fuel oil — prompting fears of an impending environmental disaster.

Department head Abdullah Aktolgalı said investigators from his unit had taken specimens from the

pool, along with samples of a “cotton-like material” suspected of being waste sulphur from a nearby rubbish tip.

Teknecik, run by the Kıb-Tek electricity board near Alagadi, east of Girne, has been at the centre of pollution concerns before, previously over unfiltered smoke belching from its chimney.

“I will not make any assumptions about what the substances could be as our teams are doing their best to find out in order for us to take further action,” Mr Aktolgalı said.

He said the results of tests on the samples were likely to be “in my hands by Monday”, and he would then brief Tourism and Environment Minister Fikri Ataoğlu.

Mr Aktolgalı did say, however, that his teams had not found any evidence of marine contamination. He added that he had not yet made any contact with Kıb-Tek officials — who were tight-lipped yesterday — because the news report had been sufficient grounds for a probe.

Biologists’ Union chairman Niyazi Türkseven said the black fluid seen in the images was fuel oil which was kept in pipes “to create pressure” after ships transferred fuel to the power plant.

“The fuel oil remaining in the pipes is mixed with seawater and then emptied into a reserve pool where it stays until the water has evaporated, leaving behind the fuel oil,” he explained.

The oil was then sucked up, purified and reused, but left behind a “black, muddylooking pool”.

Mr Türkseven called it “suspicious” that Kıb-Tek had not made any statement on the matter, despite requests for comment from both Kıbrıs and Cyprus Today.

Electricity Workers’ Union head Umut Öksüzoğlu also declined to comment.

“They have to take immediate action to prevent the fluid kept in the pool from reaching the sea, because if it does then the eco-system will be ruined,” Mr Türkseven continued.

Head of the Chamber of the Environmental Engineers Doğuç Veysioğlu said while he did not want to speculate, it was important for the matter to be investigated.