The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

CONCERNS over fuel spills from the service station at Robinson Road and Old Trail Road intersection remain unanswered after more than 20 years, according to area residents.

Marathon residents told The Tribune that they routinely experienced the presence of fumes in their water supply from an incident that occurred in the early 1990s; however, it is still not clear whether any clean-up was conducted at that time.

Reports of historic fuel releases at the site come as The Tribune continues its investigation into the reported 30,000-gallon underground gasoline leak at the service station in late 2012.

An historic release was referenced in documents from the Ministry of Environment and Housing, which referred to isolated groundwater contamination at the southeast corner of the now-Rubis Bahamas property.

According to a letter dated August 22 this year, the ministry requested that the contamination “be completely defined and measures implemented to reduce groundwater concentrations to FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) groundwater target clean-up levels”.

Resident Lillian Russell, an associate at Baycourt Chambers, said she noticed overpowering fumes coming from the pipes in her home in 1993.

“I had just given birth to my daughter,” she said, “and I was in the shower and the fumes were so strong coming out from the pipes. There was no clean-up done back then.”

Ms Russell said: “Twenty years ago no one offered that [replacement water tank] to me. With this recent incident, I had to go into Rubis myself, and they did finally produce some of the results. Now the interesting thing is the results of my well are showing very small concentrations of the various products under the level of being an issue for humans, but I have results from 20 years ago.”

She said: “Back then everyone was aware of what was going on, but no one bothered to concern themselves with the residents.”

Ms Russell’s home sits opposite the fuel station on Old Trail Road. Her mother died of cancer in July last year.

“She (her mother) had breast cancer, and in the end it spread throughout. She was diagnosed six years ago. Just about every household has been touched by cancer, but cancer is tricky you know,” she said.

Ms Russell’s mother is the second confirmed cancer death in the area last year. The Tribune is investigating at least six more deaths. The first death was reported by another nearby resident, Kendrick Evans, who had test wells drilled inside his home, one in his dining room and another in his mother’s bedroom.

Mr Evans said his mother died of cancer last year.

More than seven months have passed since a comprehensive statement was promised by the government on the underground gas leak from the service station. Residents claim they have received no information from the government about remediation plans for the area, or the results of initial tests conducted to determine their level of exposure.

According to documents obtained by The Tribune, the Ministry of Environment and Housing requested that Rubis Bahamas conduct a public health assessment of the neighbouring area, and biannual health assessments of those individuals determined to be directly affected by the fuel release.

However, residents with test wells drilled on their property confirmed that no health assessments have been conducted to date.