By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

MARATHON residents last night railed against the government for its inadequate response to health concerns following the 2012 gas leak at the Robinson and Old Trail Roads service station.

Some 40 people attended the official forum hosted by the BEST Commission to reveal the findings of an independent report conducted by consultants Black and Veatch (BV) in 2013.

Tempers flared after it was suggested that residents and their children may have been exposed to unacceptable levels of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic chemicals in the ground water in the months following the spill.

BEST Commission Director Philip Weech and representatives from Black and Veatch presented an overview of remediation efforts and related assessments, and fielded questions from residents.

Residents charged that data gaps revealed by the BV report of inconsistent monitoring undertaken by Rubis were unacceptable given that residents were not consulted to relay their personal experiences.

Officials explained that no health assessments were conducted because the Ministry of Health does not have the technical capacity to administer such tests.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Delon Brennen confirmed that requests were made to acquire the necessary skill sets, and that there was ongoing action in the matter.

Minister of Environment Kenred Dorsett and area MP Jerome Fitzgerald attended the meeting but did not respond to questions directed at them from residents. Following the meeting, Mr Dorsett said he thought the exercise was very helpful, adding that he had wanted to have the meeting for a long time in a bid to further discourse between residents and public health officials.

He told the Tribune in October that the government is considering hosting a town meeting for Marathon residents to address “unnecessary fears” over the underground gasoline leak.

Also present at the meeting were: Melanie Mckenzie, director of Environmental Health Services; and Camille Johnson, MOE Permanent Secretary.

“Protocols are not set in stone,” Mr Weech told the Tribune, “protocols change as circumstances present themselves on what adjustments need to be made. what makes this particular event different is the fact that we’re not just dealing with a release of product in the water or in the environment from an underground storage tank. This was above the water table and it came from a dispenser which meant that the release of the product into the environment had a much more long and torturous route than other ones, so that therefore is an experience that we haven’t had before and we’re now trying to find the right response to it.”

Mr Weech said: “The response is not just dealing with the polluter but it’s also dealing with the health effects associated with that because the length of exposure is completely different.”

Mr Weech said: “every incident of oil exposure and oil release is a learning incident and the question is ultimately how do we adjust our protocols to deal with these different circumstances.”

Mr Weech confirmed that the Black & Veatch report will be released on the Commission’s website today.