TotalFina's Spill Costs Rise

The oil spill off France from a chartered tanker has so far cost TotalFina more than $123 million, according to Chairman Thierry Desmarest. Desmarest announced Jan. 21 that the company will pay $31 million to store and treat polluted sand on top of almost $78 million already earmarked for the spill. "Today we make a new commitment - to take charge of the storage and treatment of waste, composed of sand, seaweed, various material, and fuel, which already weighs 100,000 tons," he said. Greenpeace slammed TotalFina last month for failing to provide storage for the sticky oil which volunteers and soldiers have been shoveling from France's west coast since the slick lapped ashore in late December. Desmarest said TotalFina has also contributed about $19 million to the oil industry compensation fund Fipol. TotalFina's contribution to the fund represents 10 percent of the $186 million Fipol will spend on repairing damage caused by the slick and compensating the local tourism and fishing industries. - (Reuters)