The information contained in a 2014 report on a Rubis gasoline leak is now outdated and does not reflect the latest testing and other remediation efforts undertaken by the company, a consultant said yesterday. The report was completed in February 2014.
During a press conference at Rubis' headquarters on Thompson Boulevard, ARCADIS Principal Engineer/Vice President Jorge Ramirez said the consultants from Black & Veatch did not conduct tests of the air or water. He said the report was based on data from ARCADIS and other sources. Rubis said it engaged ARCADIS, an international consulting firm, days after the spill was discovered at its Robinson Road gas station on January 19, 2013.
"First of all, Black & Veatch is a very reputable company," Ramirez said. "It is a very good company globally. But the review report that they submitted in February 2014... was based on reports from ARCADIS or from Rubis and other sources.
"They did not collect any additional information. They did not collect any sampling. All of that was from 2013. Since then - 2014 and 2015 - the remediation and the cleanup at the Robinson Road site has continued."
The Black & Veatch report was only made public on April 17, 2015 after area residents expressed outrage at a town meeting that the report had not been released. The report concludes that residents who live near the gas station and people who work in adjacent buildings were exposed to chemicals that could create health risks.
According to the report, a sample of homes tested in the vicinity of the Rubis spill in May 2013 revealed contamination concentrations of benzene that were hundreds of times, and in some cases thousands of times higher than acceptable screening levels in the United States.
Yesterday, Ramirez said based on testing of households in February 2015, the affected area is "small, has been contained and has not expanded" since June 2013. He also said the indoor air quality complies with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for "cancer and non-cancer health effects".
In a statement on Sunday, the government said ARCADIS took samples in March 2014 and February 2014, which showed the presence of benzene and other potential contaminants are at "safe, acceptable levels".
More relevant data on the current extent of groundwater contamination within the impacted zone was not provided. However, Ramirez said the groundwater contamination does not "pose a threat to the public's health", given that households within the impacted area are using the city's water supply.
Progress reports not made public
The government has come under heavy fire for failing to release the report sooner. On Sunday, the government expressed "sincere regret" for delaying the release of the Black & Veatch report. An initial analysis of the report's release, delayed for more than a year, revealed that "poor coordination and administration led to the delay", the government said.
Asked about the backlash from the government's handling of the Black & Veatch report, Rubis Managing Director Gordon Craig said, "I can't comment on the government's actions with that.
"Our primary focus and commitment has been remediating this spill and that is what we are doing."
He said Rubis did everything it could once the spill was discovered.
"In the interest of the surrounding community and the general public, we acted quickly, decisively and we spared no cost in our actions," Craig said.
When asked to respond to Marathon MP Jerome Fitzgerald's claim that the company refused to meet with him, Craig said Rubis has been in constant contact with the government "since day one and we stand by that statement". He repeated that statement when pressed on the matter.
The company claimed it provided the government with progress reports in December 2013, July 2014, August 2014 and last month. Those reports have not been made public. The spill took place in Fitzgerald's constituency. Fitzgerald said he did not advise his constituents of the Black & Veatch report because he would "have been fired on the spot". He said Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett brought the report to Cabinet and a decision was made to turn it over to the attorney general.
Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson previously said she did not agree there was a delay in the release of the report. Both Dorsett and Fitzgerald have said repeatedly that once the spill was reported, the relevant agencies and ministries of government went to work in order to remediate.
The government will conduct the screening of residents in partnership with the Pan American Health Organization. It has also pledged to appoint an independent governance and machinery of government expert to review the handling of the report.
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