…to meet concerned residents this week

NALCO Champion Guyana said the chemicals that will be stored at the proposed warehouse at Industrial Site, Ruimveldt will be similar to common household items such as rubbing alcohol, paint thinner, gasoline and diesel.

The company provided this clarification on Monday, days after residents from Houston Gardens, Rasville and Roxanne Burnham Gardens objected to the chemical facility being set up anywhere close to the city.

Nalco Champions Guyana, an international oil and gas company, has applied for ‘Environmental Authorisation,’ from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for the operation of a chemical warehouse facility at John Fernandes Ltd. Inland Terminal at Industrial Site, Ruimveldt, Georgetown, and for the transportation of chemicals from the Inland Terminal to John Fernandes Water Street Port. The chemicals would thereafter be transferred to the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels offshore Guyana.

Nalco Champion Guyana, on Monday, said its plans for a chemical storage facility in Georgetown will provide an important service as the country embarks on the production of oil and gas. The proposed facility at John Fernandes Ltd. Inland Terminal will only house chemical products, Nalco Champion Guyana’s Country Readiness Manager, John Waldvogel said, while further clarifying that there will be no manufacturing at the site. The stored chemicals at the location would be very similar to common household items such as rubbing alcohol, paint thinner, gasoline and diesel, he emphasized. “We recognize the importance of being a responsible neighbour in the community and operating in compliance with all Guyanese regulations at our proposed facility,” said waldvogel.

As part of this review, the EPA will conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment to ensure that Nalco Champion’s planned operations are safe for the community, the agency noted. To provide further clarity, Nalco Champion Guyana, and John Fernandes Ltd., the company that owns the site of the proposed warehouse, are planning to host a public meeting with concerned residents later this week to address their concerns.

“Our top concern is ensuring safety of the environment and the communities in which we operate,” Nalco Champion Guyana’s Warehouse Manager, Eric Scott said.

He added: “Our people also live and work here and we recognize that our neighbours may have questions about our operations. We are committed to working with the EPA and look forward to the opportunity to share more information with the local community and address any concerns it may have regarding our operations and the safety plans we have in place.”
Scott noted that Nalco Champion responsibly operates similar locations in hundreds of communities and has a proven track record of safe, sustainable operations and community involvement.

“Nalco Champion, an Ecolab company, provides safe, sustainable chemistry programs and services to the upstream and midstream oil and gas industry, refineries and petrochemical operations in more than 170 countries around the world. Through onsite problem solving and the application of innovative technologies, we maximize production, optimize water use and overcome complex challenges in the world’s toughest energy frontiers,” the company noted.

Last Saturday, concerned residents provided more than 13 reasons why the chemical warehouse should not be erected in Houston Gardens or anywhere in the city. Noting that Industrial Site is an unsuitable place to have a chemical warehouse, the residents pointed out that thousands could be affected if there is a chemical leak, many of them children.
In addition to the fact that residential communities are located in the westerly, northerly and easterly directions of the proposed chemical storage facility, the residents are contending that there is no evacuation plan or any system for effectively warning residents of any dangers to human, animal, or environmental health, that can occur anytime at the warehouse. “All lands in Houston Gardens, as well as their surrounding areas, are zoned as residential and or agricultural,” they further pointed out, and urged that the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) includes confirmation from the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC) on whether lands identified for the warehouse have been altered to reflect commercial or industrial purposes.