Euphrates River suffers oil spill

THI-QAR / IraqiNews.com: All possible measures will be taken to contain an oil spill in the Euphrates River in the west of Nassiriya, a local official in the city said. “We have discussed with the council’s board means of countering the negative effects of the oil spill and all potential measures to prevent its recurrence,” the head of the health and environment committee in Thi-Qar’s provincial council, Hatem al-Hasouni, told IraqiNews.com. The toxic oil has leaked into the river from a power station located nearly 10 km west of Nassiriya city. The oil-polluted area is surrounded by vast agricultural land and is close to the city’s major water liquefaction station. Thi-Qar, 380 km south of Baghad, has an area of 12,900 square kilometers (4,980.7 sq mi). In 2003 the estimated population of the governorate was 1,454,200 people. Thi-Qar was the second Iraqi province where security responsibilities were transferred from the Multi-National Force (MNF) to the Iraqis. The province’s capital is the city of al-Nassiriya. It also includes the ancient Sumerian ruins of Ur, Eridu, Lagash and Ngirsu. Before 1976 the province was known as al-Muntafiq. SS (P) 1