Environmentalists have warned that an oil slick caused by an accident on a rig in the Timor Sea is threatening wildlife in Australian waters.

环境保护者警告道，帝汶岛海域附近由事故引发的浮油威胁到澳大利亚海域的野生动物。

Environmentalists fear oil is heading towards an area where whales breed

Oil has been flowing from the West Atlas¹ platform for three weeks.

Safety authorities have been using chemicals to try to break up the spill but warn it could be at least two more weeks before the leak is plugged.

Up to 400 barrels of oil per day have been pouring into the Timor Sea to Australia's north.

An emergency rig has arrived from Singapore to repair the damage and aircraft and boats have been dousing²（熄减） the slick with dispersants.

Fragile environment

The Australian Maritime³ Safety Authority has said that this has helped to contain the spread of oil, the bulk of which remains⁴ around the drilling platform thanks, in part, to benign⁵（良性的） weather conditions.

Officials have stated that the slick（油膜） is about 170km (100 miles) from the Australian coast.

Environmental groups believe the contamination poses a significant threat to wildlife and is heading towards land.

Piers⁶ Verstegen, from the Conservation Council of Western Australia, says the spill（溢出，流） - off the north coast of the Kimberley region where whales congregate⁷（集合，聚集） - is an ecological⁸ disaster.

"Humpback whales, an endangered species, go to that area and that region to calf⁹ and give birth and this oil spill is happening just off the Kimberley coast," Mr Verstegen said.

"The oil, as far as we are aware, is travelling towards the Kimberley coastline but it is definitely affecting areas that are used by these whales and dolphins."

Fishermen have reported seeing endangered flatback turtles（平背龟） covered in oil.

There have also been claims that fish and sea-snakes have been poisoned.

Conservationists believe that, in its rush to exploit abundant natural resources, Australia risks inflicting¹⁰（施以，加害） irreparable（不能修补的） damage on its fragile environment.