Environmental Threat Remedied

A multi-agency team is finalizing containment while mitigating and preventing environmental threat from dislodged oil-storage drums that were swept through the George Town landfill during Hurricane Ivan.

The four-phase plan agreed by representatives of the five local agencies involved in the project includes on-site remediation advice from overseas experts and a long-term monitoring plan.

During the hurricane, a five feet-plus surge swept through the landfill from the North Sound, dislodging drums containing used oil. The drums had been stored at the landfill’s recycling area awaiting shipment overseas.

“We have now secured about 98% of the drums which had been deposited in the landfill boundary and the few drums that travelled as far as the Harquail bypass have been found and will be removed by the end of the week,” said Roydell Carter, Chief Environmental Health Officer.

Mr. Carter explained that the reason the landfill had been storing such a large number of oil drums was that there was a backlog for shipping them to Florida due to delays caused by the three hurricanes prior to Ivan. The DEH has been recycling oil abroad since 1993 and periodically sends it off island for processing.

The area of concern with respect to the Ivan-triggered oil spill includes MRCU canals on the perimeter of the landfill—which are generally not for public access.

In handling the project, the Department of Environmental Health (DEH) has joined forces with the Department of the Environment (DOE), the Chief Petroleum Inspector, Mosquito Research Control Unit (MRCU) and the Water Authority.

“DOE surveyed the area shortly after the hurricane and we believe that oil from the landfill did not enter the North Sound,” said Scott Slaybaugh, assistant director (operations), DOE. He added: “The network of MRCU canals in the area surrounding the landfill had been blocked several years ago to prevent oil and toxins from entering the North Sound.”

Oil did flow through culverts under the Harquail by-pass, entering the MRCU canals to the west, but DOE installed temporary oil booms in early October and cleaned much of the oil from the canals on the western side of the road.

Over the weekend of 15 January, a team of six DEH officers, including two excavator operators, worked to remove nearly 450 of the 55-gallon metal drums in the perimeter of the landfill and secured them in the landfill compound.

Drums collected from canal waterways did show signs of leaking but investigation of the area has found no evidence of dead fish or wildlife.

“Our DEH officers have received training from the National Spill Control School at Texas A&M University,” said Ms. Antoinette Johnson, DEH Laboratory Senior Research Officer. “They demonstrated their expertise and creativity this weekend. They safely removed the drums by developing a sling system that carefully picked the barrels up individually, thus ensuring none were punctured.”

A four-phase course of action has been outlined and includes:

Phase One: Removal of drums and building dams in canals to prevent further leakage thus stopping pollution at source. This work will be completed by 21 January.

Phase Two: Over a two-week period DOE will place special absorbent pads to remove oil product in canal water and used pads will be incinerated locally. Mulch produced as a by-product of processing vegetative matter and wood in the newly purchased tub grinder will be used to absorb oil on land. DOE will also begin construction of a permanent oil boom to prevent any spread of oil beyond the canals on the perimeter of the landfill.

Phase Three: The oil spill group will secure advice on remediation from directors of the Texas A&M University’s National Oil Spill Control School in Corpus Christi when they arrive on 1 February. Over 30 individuals in the civil service are currently trained by internationally recognized Texas A&M National Spill Control School to deal with hazardous material situations.

Phase Four: Long-term monitoring to assess impact on environment and public health.