Three days after a chlorine leak at the Guyana Water Inc’s (GWI) Water Treatment Facility at Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, the water company’s investigating team is yet to determine the cause of the seepage.
Public Relations Officer Timothy Austin stated that the investigating team is yet to determine what caused the leakage on Saturday, resulting in a section of the village’s squatting area being evacuated.
Three persons were sickened after exposure to the chlorine gas which seeped out of a leaking cylinder at the treatment plant.
The leak occurred around 5 am when the pump at the plant was turned on. It was contained around midday and the cylinder was buried.
The three persons, including a GWI employee who was exposed to the gas, were treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital and discharged.
Austin stated that the affected residents were assured that there would not be a reoccurrence of the leak and that facility’s standards would be rigidly adhered to.
Austin promised to release the cause of the leak as soon as information is received from the investigating body.
The investigation is being supervised by Occupational Health and Safety Officer, GWI Christopher Cathro. Chlorine gas is used to purify water at the plant.
