The Department of Disaster Management (DDM) is
reminding members of the community to exercise extreme caution in the storage
and disposal of waste oil.
The reminder comes against the background of an oil
spill near the Village Cay dock on Wednesday.
DDM’s certified Level II Oil Spill/Hazardous Material
Responder, Mr. Cecil Jeffrey explained that the leak stemmed from a container
being used to store waste oil near the dock.
“Once the source of the oil spill was identified, the
DDM immediately contacted the person responsible and the leaking container was
promptly removed and sand deposited on the ground to absorb the spilled oil,”
Mr. Jeffrey explained.
“We understand that accidents happen and the DDM
applauds the prompt action taken by the management of Village Cay to remedy the
situation, but we must reinforce the need to be cautious with waste oil as
spillage can have a devastating impact on the local environment” he added.
Two weeks ago, the DDM was also called to the scene of
another oil spill at Road Reef. Investigation of that incident revealed that
waste oil from an unidentified source had leaked into the marina.
The DDM in collaboration with the Department of
Conservation and Fisheries undertook the clean-up process.
Waste oil refers to any petroleum-based or synthetic oil that has been
used and which has now been contaminated with impurities such as dirt, metal
scrapings, solvents, halogens or saltwater. The
DDM encourages persons to properly dispose of waste oil by placing it in
sealed, air-tight containers and transporting it to the incinerator at Pockwood
Pond.
