Marathon residents will hold a town meeting on Monday to discuss the way forward over a Rubis gas station spill. Environmental attorney Romauld Ferreira of Ferreira and Co. has said a class action lawsuit will be discussed during the meeting.

Members of Parliament on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly against the appointment of a select committee to investigate all facts surrounding the spill that happened more than two years ago. The government has come under heavy fire for failing to release sooner a report into the gasoline spill at the Rubis gas station on Robinson Road.

The report by consultants Black & Veatch was completed in February 2014, but 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 on Robinson Road and people who work in adjacent buildings were exposed to chemicals that could create health risks.

The consultants concluded that residents and workers at the nearby Cable Bahamas buildings and occupants and visitors to the commercial buildings on the north side of the road "were potentially exposed to chemicals as a result of the Rubis [gasoline] release" in late 2012, early 2013.

The report states that indoor air samples for chemical analysis were collected by Cable Bahamas' contractor in late January and early February 2013 from three locations inside the customer service and retail building, as well as outside of the north end of the building.

"Benzene was detected in all building air samples at concentrations exceeding the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) non-residential screening level," the report notes. "Three of the five ambient air samples also exceeded the screening level. This suggests that occupants in the building, before it was evacuated, were exposed to concentrations of benzene exceeding an acceptable exposure level."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, benzene is a chemical that is a colorless or light yellow liquid at room temperature. It has a sweet odor and is highly flammable. The Department of Health and Human Services of the U.S. (DHHS) has determined that benzene causes cancer in humans. Long-term exposure to high levels of benzene in the air can cause leukemia, cancer of the blood-forming organs.

The report states, "To determine overall risk, additional factors need to be considered including length and duration of exposure.

"Cable Bahamas Limited stated that the building was evacuated the same day that petroleum odors were first observed. However, it is possible that gasoline vapors were present in the building before they were perceived by occupants of the building."

It added, "Considering that the leak may have occurred as early as November 25, and that although it would not be expected that free product (gasoline) or groundwater impacts would be immediately present in the area of the customer service and retail building, it is possible that gasoline vapors were entering the building before any odor was noted."

As it relates to residential exposure, the report states the greatest potential for exposure is the two residential properties located north of the Rubis facility on the north side of Robinson Road because exposure to chemicals is possible through multiple pathways.

The Grand Bahama Human Rights Association said yesterday it will lend support to residents in their efforts to get justice.

The town meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at Grace Community Church on Grace Avenue.

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