The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

FRUSTRATED Marathon residents yesterday claimed that the government has not yet started testing and screening residents to determine their level of exposure to chemicals emitted from a gas leak in the area more than two years ago.

The residents, all of whom live within five blocks of the Rubis gas station on Robinson Road, also questioned the government’s logic to hold the public health screenings nearly three years after the initial leak in late 2012.

Public health screenings of affected residents were scheduled to start on Monday, according to a recent government statement. The screenings, to be conducted by Chief Medical Officer Glen Beneby and the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), will last until June 1, according to the statement.

The government has maintained this week that only five Marathon homes have been affected by the fuel leak, however The Tribune spoke to several residents in the area who believe more homes have been exposed.

“To this day no one has ever come here, tested anything or did anything,” Marathon resident Richard Fountain said. “No one ever came here to ask anything either. I’ve never come home and met a sign that said they tested my water, so I’m just as bewildered as anyone else.”

“I’m hoping they can get started as soon as possible,” said a female resident, who did not want to be identified. “Nobody has come by or mentioned anything to me as yet, me being one of the residents. Whoever’s doing the screenings needs to knock on each door and find out what’s going on. I’m concerned because a few people have had symptoms. We don’t know what’s causing it, but it could be because of (the fuel leak). The sooner the better.”

Lybye Johnson, another resident, said she is “annoyed” by the whole ordeal.

“I think there’s some hidden agenda definitely,” she added. “A child could see that. I can’t see them having this information and nothing was done. What is happening here? It just doesn’t make any sense. Nobody can come to me and say there are only five houses affected. We know that’s impossible.”

Another male resident who did not want to be named said: “It might be too late but I feel the screening process should go on. It has a lot to do with our health, and if the screening process is going on it needs to be done immediately. This is a major problem, and at this point, the screening process was supposed to have been done since day one.”

On Monday, angry Marathon residents flocked to Grace Community Church for a town meeting on the matter, demanding that the government reconsider the number of households affected by the Rubis fuel spill.

Pointing to numerous cancer deaths and blood-related diseases that were said to have proliferated in the community, residents railed about reports of inadequate testing in their community and accused the government of negligence in its role to protect public health.

Residents are also furious after it was revealed that the government had an independent report into the leak in its possession for more than a year before releasing it last month.

That report, prepared by Black and Veatch International, found that people who live and work near the fuel station were exposed to potentially harmful chemicals.

On Sunday, the government issued a statement on the fuel spill. It said Rubis had accepted responsibility for the incident, and that the government had compelled Rubis to remediate the situation by removing all contamination in water and soil, containing the spill and preventing cross contamination to other locations or sites, and testing and reporting on contamination levels for wells, residences and local businesses.

The government also pledged to continue testing and monitoring in the affected area for “the next several years,” adding that it would update the public through “quarterly reports”.

Last month, FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis said as a result of the Christie administration’s dereliction of duty in handling “the worst crisis in recent times” it is now impossible to retroactively determine Bahamians’ total exposure to the chemicals emitted from the 2012 gas leak.

Rubis, meanwhile, has defended itself from “inaccurate” media reports about its reaction to the fuel leak, explaining that the company has taken appropriate steps to remedy the situation.

The company insisted that recent area tests have found no free hydrocarbons in the soil, and reduced hydrocarbon levels in the ground water. Hydrocarbons are made up of compounds such as benzene, a cancer-causing compound found in fuel, and methane.