Suspected Santa Flora chemical leak being cleaned up

Clean-up work has begun on a suspected chemical leak into a small watercourse in Santa Flora.

Palo Seco councillor Anton George told Newsday a resident alerted him to the leak in School Road on February 21.

George said after visiting the site, he immediately alerted Heritage Petroleum Ltd. He said the company responded shortly after 7 am the next day.

"They were for themselves observing and taking samples, so I must give credit. They responded in a quick and timely fashion."

The councillor told Newsday the company has not communicated yet with him as to what the chemical might have been, and suspected the sample was still undergoing testing.

Luckily, he said residents and any environmentally sensitive plants or animals were not affected. But he said there is a suspicion some farmers use the tributary to water their crops.

"We also know the law concerning that. The law concerning that is that you are supposed to obtain a proper licence and that kind of thing...so I do hope everybody was doing things the correct way."

Less than a ten-minute walk away, several residents of Agapito Trace were victims of an oil leak which flowed through their properties in October 2021. Residents reportedly complained of falling ill from the hydrocarbon stench that filled their homes while clean-up was under way.

A representative from Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd said a statement was being prepared, but none had been issued up to press time.