21 August 2012, 16:00
Oil spillage registered in Batumi
An oil spillage from old depreciated pipes happened in the township of Bartskhana in Batumi. Special services are now busy in the place of spillage into the Bartskhana River.
Oleg Bolkvadze, the head of the Nature Protection Service of Batumi, told reporters, that any penetration of oil from the Bartskhana River to the Black Sea was prevented by taking all the necessary measures.
"Now the volume and the reason of spillage are clarified. But it is safe to say that it is another occasional spillage from the old pipeline; it is inoperative, but at times old oil is pouring out," he said.
Mr Bolkvadze has assured that the accident has nothing to do with the current activities of the Batumi Oil Terminal and noted that the land around the former refinery contains plenty of old pipes, in which oil had accumulated for decades, the "Tbilisi Week" reports.
Oleg Bolkvadze has also noted that a complete elimination of the problem is almost impossible, as is necessary to replace old pipes by new ones, which needs quite a lot of money, the "News.ge" reports.
