By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
RUBIS executives say the company is actively addressing an underground gas leak at its Robinson Road station as part of a wider “clean-up” exercise stemming from its acquisition of the Bahamas’ Texaco business last year.
While limited on what he could say publicly on the matter due to a reported gag order by the Ministry of the Environment, RUBIS’ western Caribbean general manager, Stewart Gill, called the matter an “unfortunate situation”.
He added: “We’re standing behind it, it’s now our problem. We are doing the right thing in dealing with it. It’s an unfortunate situation.”
RUBIS, whose subsidiary Vitogaz bought Chevron’s fuels marketing and aviation business last May, now controls 20 fuel stations in the Bahamas. The company has significant upgrades which they plan to implement this third quarter following a “clean-up year”.
It is unclear how much fuel has leaked into the ground at Robinson Road, but the situation has raised serious environmental concerns, enough to prompt Cable Bahamas to relocate its customer service staff from its Robinson Road offices.
According to Tribune Business sources, the gasoline leak came from an underground fuel tank at the Texaco station on Robinson Road. “The tank in the ground has had a leak, it has leaked for years and the fuel is under Cable Bahamas customer care building,” one source said.
“The vapour from that fuel is now emanating strongly inside that building. That has contaminated a half acre area. There is some serious contamination in that area that has to be cleaned up. That could have been leaking anywhere from 10-20 years. The life of a petroleum tank in the ground is 18 years, 20 years maximum.
“The salt in the water probably corroded the tank and caused it to rupture. What could have happened is the tank may have been fractured upon installation and corroded over time, and coupled with air pressure, caused it to expand,” the source told Tribune Business.
“You have a lot of people in the area who use ground water. Gasoline carries a mixture in it that’s heavily loaded with carcinogen, which is a cancer-causing substance. The people of the immediate Marathon Estates area should be concerned.”
Tribune Business has to-date been unable to obtain a response from environmental health officials on the matter.
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