Nine months after Tobago was faced with an unprecedented oil spill, the substance pumped from the overturned vessel remains stored at the Studley Park Quarry.
While plans are underway to have this removed, the Tobago House of Assembly assures that there is no threat to the environment and water sources.
During Thursday’s Post Executive Media Briefing, the THA sought to allay concerns of some regarding the storage of the petrochemical at the Studley Park Quarry.
Director of the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), Allan Stewart, indicated they are aware of the risks associated with the storage of the substance at this space but reiterated the storage is temporary and preventative infrastructural measures were utilised.
“Those cells were dug, lined in a particular manner to take certain mitigation and preventative measures where these wastes were concerned and that went well according to plan. Our unit, TEMA, was asked to do the necessary monitoring and that monitoring went quite well. We recognised that it survived, also, the dykes that were built around these cells prevented any leakages or runoff into our other important areas.”
Chairman of the THA’s Multidisciplinary Oilspill Management Committee, Linford Beckles, assured the oil storage has not affected water reservoirs in this area.
“There is no risk to any major water bodies, certainly not any risk to any water body that we, the people in Tobago, depend on for potable water. We have three sample points in the Barbados Bay area, from the mouth of the river down to the Studley Park Jetty that is operated by the Studley Park Industries Limited and of course the latest reading we got was about 9:30am yesterday morning. Those readings are remarkably consistent with the readings that we actually got before the oil spill.”
He said physical observations also highlight there is no negative impact from the oil storage.
“You are not getting any petrochemical scent coming from the area. There is no visible sheen in any of the water bodies there. And apart from that, the biological life is quite active in that stream. You have all your fishes, you have your tadpoles, you have your crabs, all of those things and so on. And of course, you have dragonflies and dragonflies are a very accurate indicator of good to reasonable water quality.”
While the Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries is responsible for the disposal of the chemical, THA Deputy Chief Secretary, Dr. Faith B.Yisrael, noted plans are afoot to have this process started.
“They will take responsibility for the final disposal of it. Of course, working very closely with us and that is why we were happy to see the request from NGC to have access to the property. And we will continue the conversations as it relates to exactly what will happen to ensure that we provide a safe and environmentally-friendly response to the final disposal.”