By Vanessa Braithwaite

THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week paid a visit to bauxite company Bosai Inc in Linden in an effort to monitor the Standard Operating Procedures (SoP) that was implemented to prevent future seepage of oil from the plant into the waterways, including the Demerara River. This information was relayed to the Guyana Chronicle by an environmental officer of the company who opted for anonymity.
The oil spill that occurred on March 29 is a result of negligence on the part of the employers tasked with monitoring the oil in the oil-water separator.
The environmental officer explained that there was an oil-water separator in place that would capture the oil being released from the engine in the plant.
However, in that instance, it was not properly monitored, hence, the occurrence of the leak.
This leak was reported by farmers to Regional Chairman Renis Morian, who brought it to the attention of the EPA. Upon investigation, Bosai was found culpable and was ordered to pay $1.5M for the negligence.
The environment officer revealed that Bosai has since put in place a standard operating procedure which furnished all employees coming into contact with the oil-water separator with the procedures of operating same effectively.
All of the employees have access to this SoP which is now fully documented. In addition to this, a filter procedure has also been implemented to further protect the environment while a CA lysine material will also be used to absorb any oil that may seep.
These preventative measures, the environmental officer said, are effective as the EPA had no complaints on their recent visit.
Bosai officials during a recent visit to the Regional Chairman’s office promised to strengthen the relationship between the company and the residents of Linden and will give assistance when similar situations occur.
They also promised to donate fertilisers to the farmers who had suffered losses as a result of the spill. A search party is expected to investigate whether oil may be leaking from other sources as may be the case in the old storage area at the aluminum plant. The idea has also surfaced that Linden may be sitting on oil reserves which may also contribute to the regular spills.