Several Marathon residents yesterday expressed outrage and disappointment over the government's decision to withhold a report of a Rubis Bahamas Limited gasoline leak that occurred more than two years ago, and said they will seek legal action.

Ted Forbes, a Robinson Road resident and owner of Picture 21 Studio, said he was shocked to hear the government sat on the report for more than a year.

In April 2013, Forbes and several other residents started a petition demanding information on the matter, including the test results conducted on their water wells.

He said both Rubis and the government ignored their cries.

The report was completed by Black & Veatch International on February 20, 2014.

It concluded that residents who live and work near the gas station were exposed to chemicals that could create health risks.

The Bahamas Environment Science and Technology (BEST) Commission released the report on Friday, a day after residents expressed shock and anger at a town meeting that the report had been withheld.

Director of the BEST Commission Philip Weech indicated the commission did not release the report because it did not have the approval of the Office of the Attorney General to do so.

"We now want results," Forbes said.

"We feel as if health insurance should be established for all of us, and we are talking about for the rest of our lives.

"We do not know exactly what is going to happen. We do not even know how we are affected now. "We have been washing our food with this [water], brushing our teeth, cooking and some of us have been bathing in and drinking this.

"They never acted as if this was important. We need insurance and I think there should be compensation because our properties are also affected.

"If we try to sell our homes and people find what the problem is, how are we ever going to get full value?"

Forbes and Brenneth Chisholm, a resident of Robinson Road for 34 years, are among several residents who were connected to the Water and Sewerage Corporation's supply following the discovery of the gas leak.

Both residents said Rubis covered the cost of installation and claimed that the company pledged to cover their water bills, but this has been inconsistent.

Chisholm, who owns Chisholm Upholstery, said he was disappointed in the government and felt abandoned.

"I went to the meeting on Thursday night... And I did not say anything because there was someone there, and I wanted to call his name," Chisholm said.

"I was not looking at the people up front. Someone was there who made a promise to us, but I did not bother to call his name that night because they did not say anything."

Asked whether he was referring to a government official, Chisholm said, "Yes sir."

At the mention of Marathon MP Jerome Fitzgerald's name, Chisholm snidely laughed.

Fitzgerald and Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett were in attendance, but said nothing during the meeting.

Trevor Sangster, a resident of Haslemere Road, off Old Trail Road, said, "In light of the serious implications, this has to do with human lives.

"We are all human and whether you are a government official or not that report should have been made available to each and every person in this community. It is inhumane.

"...We have every right to know what is going on in our community. Whether it affects the government in a certain way or the other we still have a right.

"For them not to give us this report or not be forthcoming with us makes us [question], how important are we?"

Sangster called the matter a "disgrace".

When asked about the delayed release, Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson did not agree that there was a delay.

She said it is "premature to make any indication about what steps the government will take in relation to the matter".

Another resident of Old Trail Road, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said her next step is legal action as she is extremely concerned about her health.

"In sitting with our legal counsel...there is a need for us to do further testing of our environment and we will do that in the next few days," she said.

"I am just disappointed, disappointed."

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