Medical
help, meals for oil spill victims
PORT SPAIN
Petroleumworldtt.com
02 24 08
Two-year-old Mark Chance placed his head on his
mother's shoulder yesterday and complained of feeling
unwell.
Little Mark said his head hurt and he was feeling
nauseous.
The Chance family were evacuated after a 16-inch
oil transfer line ruptured around 10.30 a.m. on
Tuesday. They moved back to their home yesterday.
Mark's grandmother, 60-year-old Marilyn Chance,
also fell ill from the high stench.
His mother Gaitri Chance said a Petrotrin official
visited the family and promised to send medical
personnel.
"They are treating us good since the oil
spill. The supervisor came and spoke to us this
morning and said we will get medical treatment," she
said.
The family lives opposite the site of the oil
spill along Pluck Road, La Fortune, Woodland.
Bryan Bullock, who lives closest to the leaking
pipeline, said his wife had moved out the house
because of the smell.
"I
can bear it a little so I am staying here to
clean up."
Puddles of black crude oil remained in his back
yard yesterday. The line burst in his front yard.
A contractor was hired by Petrotrin, the State-owned
energy company, to remove the oil.
"The company has been keeping in contact
with us and is going to compensate us for the damage.
We cannot cook because of the high smell of oil
so they are also providing us with meals," he
said.
Bullock said his plants were destroyed and his
driveway was dug up by workmen to repair the leak.
"The oil spilled downstairs my house so we
had a lot of cleaning to do," he said.
The workmen used buckets to remove the oil which
had settled at the back of Bullock's home.
In all, about 12 people from three families were
affected by the spill.
Petrotrin workers on Tuesday discovered the leak
on the line that carries crude from Forest Reserve
to the Pointe-a-Pierre refinery. The company said
the flow of crude was stopped and workers immediately
began mopping up exercises.
About 30 barrels of oil escaped to the surface,
the Express learned.
Arnold Corneal, Petrotrin's corporate communications
manager, said the pipelines in the area were more
than 50 years old and needed to be replaced.
Story
by Carolyn
Kissoon from
Trinidad Express, South Bureau
Trinidad
Express
Thursday,
February 21st 2008
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