A mishap yesterday morning at the Guyana Power and Light’s (GPL) Kingston Power Station resulted in oil spilling into the Demerara River. However up to late last night cleanup crews were on the ground to contain the seepage. GPL promised a full investigation into the causes of the spill.
Stabroek News received information that officials of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were also supposed to be visiting the area to assess the seriousness of the mishap. “At around 10:00 hours today, it was discovered that fuel was spilling whilst being transferred between a large storage tank to another at GPL’s Kingston generation compound,” GPL said in a press release. “It is estimated that approximately one hundred gallons (three barrels) of fuel spilled, some of which escaped into the Demerara river,” it said.
The company said that in keeping with its safety, health and environmental policies and procedures, GPL’s personnel on site took swift action that led to containment of the fuel and avoided it from spreading.
“Fortunately, it was low tide and booms were to hand, which were promptly put in place to prevent the fuel from dispersing deep into the river,” GPL said in the release. It said that a prominent waste collection and disposal service entity, Countrywide Disposal Services, and the Coast Guard responded immediately.
“At the time of this release, almost all of the fuel was recovered. Special bio-degradable fuel dispersants are being used to clean up the small amounts remaining,” the release said.
GPL thanked its staff, management and staff of Countrywide Disposal Services, the Coast Guard and the Fire Service for their prompt response and action.
A senior GPL official at Kingston told Stabroek News last night that crews were “still mopping up” in an effort to clean the oil from the ground. He said that it was “not a massive spill” and that reports of it might have been exaggerated.
