A/HRC/2/8 page 13 situation which they had now to face. The Special Rapporteur was shocked to see the port of Deliah where, at the time of his visit, the sea was covered by the thick carpet of the oil spill preventing fisherfolk from returning to work. 27. The Special Rapporteur also visited Jiyyeh, where about 15,000 tons of oil spilled into the sea following the Israeli bombing of four fuel tanks on 14 July 2006. In addition, 55,000 tons of oil stored in the tanks exploded, causing a plume of polluting smoke 60 km high.36 A preliminary assessment of the impact of the oil spill found that damage to the shoreline was extensive, with the oil slick measuring up to 50 cm thick in some places and beaches had heavily contaminated.37 Lebanon had a 220 km coastline, with two large bays, 12 peninsulas and a number of river deltas, about two thirds of which are affected by the pollution. It is estimated that the massive oil spill will reach the Syrian coast by mid-September 2006. The Special Rapporteur was able to speak with leaders of the fishing cooperatives and with NGOs regarding the short-and long-term damage of the bombardment of the Jiyyeh tanks. The United Nations Environment Programme, assisted the French naval experts, estimates that the damage is as bad as the damage caused by the sinking of the tanker Erica on the north-west coast of France in 1999 and the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska in 1989. The long-term consequences remain to be seen; in the Exxon Valdez catastrophe, it took three years for the full effects to be felt on the ecosystem. Professor Richard Stark, mandated by the Ministry of the Environment, the World Conservation Union and Green-Line, a Lebanese NGO, has produced an assessment of how the food chain will be affected. As polluted algae are eaten by small fish, which are the prey of larger fish, the pollution will move up the food chain. The French NGO Plan Action Mediterrannée has also expressed concern that the fuel spilled contains class 1 carcinogenic substances like benzene that may have long-term impacts and increase the number of cancer cases. At a minimum, with the loss of fishing livelihoods, thousands of people will need basic support to survive until their livelihoods can be restored. The long-term effects of the oil spill on livelihoods must also include adverse impacts on the tourism industry, which provides employment for a large section of the Lebanese population. Drinking water and agricultural irrigation 28. There have been shortages of potable water, especially in the south. A joint United Nations assessment team, including representatives of OCHA, UNICEF, UNHCR and WFP, that travelled from Tyre to Aitarou on 26 August 2006 found an urgent need for clean drinking and washing water in villages following extensive damage to the water network. In Tebnine, Aita Ech Chaab and Bint J’bail the need for water was a priority.38 In some areas, only bottled water is available and the price of water is becoming unaffordable.39 Concerns have been raised about the threat of widespread outbreaks of water-borne disease; the first cases have been reported in the village of Yahoune. The authorities, the United Nations and many NGOs are working to provide the minimum standard of 15 litres of water per person per day. 29. Israeli bombing has destroyed wells, water mains, storage tanks, water pumping stations, distribution networks and water treatment works throughout southern Lebanon. The irrigation canal attached to the Litani River was also hit.40 The water service elsewhere in the country has also been disrupted, as water pipes running beneath roads have been extensively damaged when the roads above were bombed.41 This has exacerbated water shortages, which were already a problem in Lebanon: prior to the war, most of the Lebanese territory was already facing a shortage of drinking water42 and the civil war had delayed water planning on the Litani River for