Guayaguayare residents still affected by Heritage oil spill

AN oil spill which occurred since February 11, at the Ferrier Circular, Guayaguayare operations of Heritage Petroleum continues to affect residents in the area.

In spite of an assurance from Heritage the day after the spill that the situation was under control, Mayaro MP Rushton Paray said residents are still complaining about a strong odor of hydrogen sulphide in the atmosphere

On Thursday, Paray met with residents who expressed concerns about the potential medical, environmental, and economic implications that the oil spill could have on them.

“They want to know whether the air quality is safe to breathe.”

He said residents are calling for a single point contact for damage reports, “and an estimated date of the end of clean-up operations when their lives can return to normal.”

Paray told villagers he was advised Heritage Oil Spill Response Team was dispatched to contain and recover the spilled hydrocarbons, and several of the concerns they expressed were being addressed.

However, he said the actual clean-up is being hampered, as there is currently no access road to the spill. He said Heritage has to create a path for vehicles to pass through.

Paray said he was also concerned about the possibility of hydrocarbon contamination of nearby groundwater and soil, and the potential of H2S gas emissions from the exposed condensate.

He emphasised the need for a comprehensive clean-up strategy that takes into account the environmental impact of the spill and how best to mitigate them. He also called for regulations and protocols to prevent future spills from happening.

Paray called for Heritage to provide a completed air quality report and an environmental report from the IMA on the impact to the watercourse where there was some spill-over.

He is also requesting the repurposing of the Guayaguayare Health Facility to a 24-hour accident and emergency unit, to facilitate any health effect to the residents of the area until the situation is resolved, as well as, a full standby ambulance service to Mayaro/Sangre Grande Hospital.

“Oil spills are an unfortunate and unavoidable fact of life in our society, but we must have provisions in place to deal with them when they do happen,” he said.

In a February 23 release, Heritage said the clean-up was ongoing.

The company explained that the sole source of the leak, located in a heavily forested area, was quickly identified and repaired on February 12. It said subsequent checks of the line revealed no further leaks.

Nevertheless, on February 19, Heritage said it was notified of complaints of an odour affecting a nearby community.

“Heritage health, safety and environment representatives were immediately dispatched to conduct air quality tests, in the vicinity of the spill and surrounding environs. No harmful emissions were detected, and Heritage continues to monitor the air quality of the area.

“Heritage and its contractors are working assiduously to remove the residual oil from the forested area. Members of the community have been hired by the contractor to help expedite the clean-up and restoration work. Moreover, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) and the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) continue to be updated on an ongoing basis.”