The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

A MARATHON resident identified to have been directly affected by the 2012 Rubis gasoline leak has claimed that he and his daughter used contaminated groundwater for more than six months before he was told to switch to the public water supply.

Kenrick Evans, of Isabella Road, filed his writ of summons in the Supreme Court last month, accusing station owner Rubis Bahamas and former operator Fiorente Management of negligence or nuisance for the 24,000-gallon spill.

In his statement of claim filed on Monday, Mr Evans alleges that he was informed of the leak some time in July 2013 – six months after Rubis began remediation efforts at the Robinson and Old Trail Roads service station located 60 feet from his property. However, he said he was not advised to connect to the Water and Sewerage Corporation’s supply from his private well until September 2013.

In the July meeting, Mr Evans said he was informed that the groundwater under his home was contaminated and that Rubis required access to his property for remediation purposes.

He entered into a lease agreement with Rubis for the installation of the Solid Vapour Extraction System in October 2013, which he claims has emitted excessive noise from its continuous operation.

Mr Evans further claimed that in December 2013, persons from Rubis dressed in protective gear installed two air monitors on his property – one in his dining room and the other in his front yard. Two holes were also drilled into the foundation of his property, and circular devices were inserted – one in his dining room and one in his mother’s bedroom. However, he has never received the results of the tests conducted.

According to the claim, Mr Evans’ mother Audrey Evans died of cancer January 9, 2013.

In an independent report into the spill released this year, it was confirmed that the leak occurred in November 2012, was discovered by Fiorente Management in December 2012, but not reported to station owner Rubis until January 2013.

The report completed by Black and Veatch International, and turned over to the government in February 2014, also revealed that tests for groundwater contamination at Mr Evans’ home indicated that concentrations of benzene, a cancer-causing compound found in gasoline, were above acceptable screening levels in the United States.

The Evans’ residence was said to contain 69 micrograms per litre of benzene, according to the report, which indicated the tests were conducted in May 2013. The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s target screening level of benzene is 0.39 micrograms per litre.

Mr Evans is seeking damages for personal injuries sustained, or likely to be sustained, and damage caused to his land and property as a result of the gasoline leak.

His residence is adjacent to Marathon residents Adrianne and Richard Munroe, who have also taken legal action against Rubis and Fiorente Management.