Environmental inspectors and technicians from the Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA) are assessing the situation of an oil spillage, which occurred around Vai Town on Sunday, 19 July 2020.
Preliminary findings from EPA's technical assessment suggest that the source of the leakage which led to the spillage is from one of the diesel storage tanks at Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC).
Authorities of the EPA established that on Sunday July 19, 2020 the management of LPRC carried -out normal operation of transferring petroleum products from a vessel to storage tank 402. While in the process, tank 402 begun to overflow with diesel.
The operation was conducted at night with poor visibility and manual system. It was also established that the valve which closes the tank was opened, thereby allowing oil to flow from the tank into the river. The situation resulted into massive water pollution spanning from LPRC facility to Vamuco in Vai Town and beyond.
The agency is leading a full scale assessment considering all parameters of concern. The assessment team includes EPA, Liberia Maritime Authority (LMA) and LPRC.
“We are scaling up efforts to get the findings ready as soon as possible,” EPA Acting Executive Director Randall Dobayou said in a statement released last evening.
He disclosed that an environmental and social impact assessment is being done to determine the remediation and restoration action to be taken in favor of the environment.
Hon. Dobayou disclosed that the Ministry of Information will officially communicate findings from the investigation since it is a joint assessment involving three government agencies.