THE UNDERGROUND CLEAN-UP WORK of the oil spill continued in Oistins, Christ Church, yesterday with workers from the Drainage Division clearing the drains to prepare for flushing.
The goal is to remove as much of the oil-soaked silt as possible so teams from Barbados National Energy Co. Ltd (BNECL) can remove all vestiges of oil from the sewerage system and dispose of it.
"Essentially, the Drainage Unit began to work on Friday, the day of the oil spill. They began working on clearing the drains on the main roadside of Oistins," senior information officer in the Ministry of Transport and Works, Shamkoe Pile, said in an update yesterday.
"Between [Sunday and yesterday], they have started clearing the drains on the seaside and the watercourse, along with any further drains that come through on the interior side of Oistins."
Pile said the teams were also digging more manholes for ease of access as well as increased ventilation.
"The idea is to get rid of any excess oil residue that may be lingering in those drains. So, the team is also digging some additional manholes, and that is largely to assist the drainage workers who, based on the nature of their work, go into the manholes and the drains to assist with the clearing."
She said BNECL personnel would flush the system when the work was completed, collect the oily water and store it off-site.
In the meantime, the Drainage Division will continue working until officials from the Environmental Protection Department are satisfied that sufficient oil residue has been removed.
"We have a weekly drainage clearing schedule, and with the hurricane season upon us, we intensify that process and the clearing of water courses, so this situation in Oistins expedited that process," Pile added.
BNECL group health, safety, security and environment manager Damien Catlyn said the Drainage Division was doing "fantastic work", adding the silver lining was the sand in the drains preventing the oil from going any further.
Last Friday morning, the oil spill occurred at the pump facility north of the Oistins Bay Garden, and around 1 000 barrels of crude oil were initially recovered. Investigations are continuing into how the incident occurred. (CA)