Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 6, 1995 TAG: 9509060145 SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: DATELINE: ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND LENGTH: Short
In a letter to Shell UK Chairman Chris Fay, Peter Melchett, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said the group had wrongly claimed that 5,500 tons of oil remained aboard the platform Brent Spar. That would have been about 38,500 barrels, or 1.6 million gallons.
Fay said the amount of oil aboard the Brent Spar was as little as 50 tons, or about 350 barrels. He said any environmental impact from dumping it would be ``minimal.''
Fay said he respected Greenpeace for acknowledging its error. ``Had we dumped ... it's an awful word when you think about it - had we disposed of the Brent Spar, then perhaps that misinformation would have stayed forever.''
The letter said Greenpeace had tried to take a sample from one of the platform's storage tanks, but it learned recently that the equipment used in the measurement had become stuck in a pipe.
As a result, it took a sample only from the pipe and never got into the tank.
The Brent Spar has been towed to Norway, and Shell is deciding what to do next.
- Associated Press
by CNB