As he clarified details surrounding the 2012 oil spill, Managing Director of Rubis Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Gordon Craig said the company’s focus is remediating the oil spill to protect the environment.
During a press conference yesterday, Mr. Craig said Rubis, which has the public’s safety in its best interest, responded to the oil spill at the service station on Robinson and Old Trail Roads in the best way it could.
“Rubis, as a big corporate citizen is fully focused on what is important, remediating the situation as soon as possible to protect the public health and the environment,” he said.
“I can assure you that as soon as we learned of the leak on January 19, 2013, our company took immediate action. In interest of the surrounding community and the general public we acted quickly, decisively and we speared no costs in our actions.”
The oil spill, a hot topic in local media especially over the last two weeks, has raised health and safety concerns among residents in the surrounding areas.
Mr. Craig said shortly after the oil leak, the company began working with ARCADIS, a company that specializes in the cleanup of oil spills and constructing remedial systems internationally.
Vice president of ARCADIS Jorge Ramirez said clean up systems were put in place and according to recent surveys conducted, ground water and indoor air show no health threats although some areas are still contaminated.
“During a survey, 100 homes were identified, 50 wells were in those properties and we had the permission to conduct samples from 50 of those wells,” he said.
“The results of that sampling tell us that none of those private wells have exceedences according with Florida Department of Environmental Regulations guidelines, only properties directly in that area have been impacted.”
The estimated completion time of the final stage of the cleanup which is now underway is expected to be five years.
Rubis officials said their main goal is to ensure the best outcomes, as regards to a safe environment and peace of mind, not only for the surrounding community but also the general public.
