By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

WHITE foam which was dispersed during a fire drill conducted at the Buckeye plant in Grand Bahama last Thursday was blown into the Pinder's Point residential community, a spokesperson for the company confirmed on Monday.

Greg LaRoda, a local representative for Buckeye, told The Tribune the company held a fire drill to test the readiness of its fire response team and strong winds blew the foam over the fence.

He said the foam is "harmless".

"There is no need for persons to be concerned. It is just unfortunate that it went over into the (residents') yard," he said.

Residents Vera Grant and Jason Darling told The Tribune last week that around 10.30am on Thursday, a significant amount of foam was blowing into the community and some of it into Mrs Grant's yard, which she collected in a container.

She contacted Buckeye and reported the incident to the Grand Bahama Environmental Association, which has been advocating for the relocation of Pinder's Point residents due to alleged ongoing industrial pollution in the area for the past four decades.

Initially, when The Tribune contacted Buckeye last Thursday about the reported complaint, a representative denied the incident.

Mr LaRoda, however, said the company had received a call from Mrs Grant. "We told her it was a drill and she seemed okay," he said.

He explained that fire drills are usually spontaneous and notice is not given because they are trying to assess the readiness of the team, and it is difficult to provide a warning about when a drill would take place.

Buckeye operates the BORCO oil storage terminal - the largest in the Caribbean region with a barrel capacity of more than 20 million.

Shuffel Hepburn, a member of GBEA, said the association has collected a sample taken by Mrs Grant and will analyse the residue to ensure that it is not harmful to residents.