By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

FRUSTRATED Marathon residents last night demanded that the government reconsider the number of households affected by the Rubis fuel spill at the Robinson Road and Old Trail Road service station.

More than 200 people flocked to the volatile town meeting held at Grace Community Church to address the exclusive concerns of residents in Regency Park, Highbury Park, and Palmetto Village.

Pointing to numerous cancer deaths and blood-related diseases that were said to have proliferated in the community, residents railed against reports of inadequate testing in their community and accused the government of negligence in its role to protect public health.

Tempers flared following presentations from environmental and health experts, and former government officials, who contested the government’s position on the initial and current risks associated with the spill.

Ninety-year-old resident Katrina Livingstone said: “I live Isabella Boulevard. They came and tested my well water. No one ever came back to me. I had cancer in 2005, I didn’t have to take chemo or radiation (at that time) but a year ago I now have to go every two months because they found that cancer is in my blood.”

Hosted by radio personality Jeffrey Lloyd, the meeting began at 7.45pm and was organised by resident group Justice for Marathon with assistance from Cable Bahamas. A representative from the telecommunications company brought the meeting to a close shortly before 10pm.

Presenters included: Kenred Dorsett, Minister of Environment; Romauld Ferreira, environmental attorney and consultant; Dr Sy Pierre, clinical director at the Bahamas Medical Centre; and Phenton Neymour, industry expert and former Minister of State for Environment.

During his presentation on toxins and relevant health testing and treatment, Dr Pierre explained that chemicals like benzene had a short life span in the blood and were quickly stored in fat cells by the body following exposure. He said the toxins were likely to remain in fat tissue unless removed through specific detoxification treatment.

According to the BEST Commission, a leak of 12,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline at the service station at Robinson and Old Trail Roads occurred in late December 2012, and was reported on January 19 to Rubis and the government. However, as Mr Ferreira pointed out, both Rubis and station operator Fiorente Management stated that the leak first occurred on November 25, 2012. It was previously reported that the size of the spill was 24,000 gallons.

Mr Ferreira said that the spill was not contained and was very likely to still be migrating north east and endangering residents, given that a screen was not set up to prevent the underground gas leak from travelling further into the community.

Both Mr Ferreira and Mr Neymour quoted from the Black and Veatch International report, which found that Marathon residents were possibly exposed to harmful chemicals including benzene that had contaminated the groundwater. They criticized the fact that there was insufficient testing conducted at the boundaries of the affected area identified by Rubis.

Mr Neymour explained that the BVI report was only a “report on a report” and could not make any independent or conclusive assessment of risks to residents and the environment.

“The leak occurred in November, reported in January,” Mr Neymour said, “but Black and Veatch wasn’t engaged until October.

“Do you know that three months after the contamination, they went in the middle of Robinson Road and measured the volatility of the air and found it to be explosive? They didn’t close the road down or nothing. Think about it.”

The Ministry of Health began meeting with Marathon residents affected by the 2012 underground Rubis fuel leak yesterday.

Last night, resident Lillian Russell confirmed that she was one of the first homes visited by the Ministry of Health (MOH) team. She said that officials conducted a questionnaire, and informed her that there would be a follow-up to collect blood and urine samples. However, she expressed concerns over the effectiveness of the screening given the exposure timeline and information presented by Dr Pierre.

Although Mr Dorsett maintained that the spill’s impact was contained to only five households, and that remediation has brought contamination within acceptable safety levels, he advised residents that nobody in the area should use groundwater.

A show of hands revealed that more than 60 per cent of those attending were still using private well water.

Among the demands put forward by residents were calls for a widened area of testing, and a campaign to ensure that all residents were switched to city water at no cost.

Area MP Jerome Fitzgerald was also present, and at times defended his role in the matter against residents who accused him of not acting on their behalf or in their best interest.

Mr Fitzgerald told residents he found it unfortunate that the situation had been embedded with “partisan speculation, political jockeying and scare tactics”.

A longtime resident, Alfonso Smith, said that Mr Fitzgerald was not fit to represent the people of Marathon; however, he was booed by some persons in the crowd, who insisted that the matter was not political.

Longtime resident Steven Plakaris, of Regency Park, said his family has eaten from their home garden for the past several years and use private well water because the quality and supply of city water was unsatisfactory.

“You can say to not get into politics, but politics is the art of governance,” Mr Plakaris said. “The facts said that the knowledge that the persons in the area would be affected, and that they needed to be informed is in black and white. It went to the various leaders, the leaders read it, sat down, looked at it, and said I don’t live there, and then a year later is gonna tell me in no uncertain terms that I shouldn’t be concerned? And for a year and a half, me and my family, friends, and neighbours drinking, living in the area. You got to be joking.”

“If we must wait any longer for a report to be given,” he said, “I would like to invite all those on both sides to come and drink our water. All of my neighbours have pumps. Come and drink my water and bathe in the same water that I use, and then you tell me to be patient and be calm. When you can do that I know you care, otherwise you go back home. The rest of us will go to our homes where my friends and neighbours have died.

“I buried a good friend just a few months ago from cancer and a few others in this area. I don’t want to bury anymore. It was an accident and I know that, but accident means that people have a right to know.”

Mr Plakaris said: “Please let us know what is going to be done now, not 10 months later, what recourse you have to medical examination without cost, to legal representation without cost, because you as our leaders both sides knew.

“There is no excuse,” he added.