J Wray and Nephew Ltd, operators of Appleton Estate in St Elizabeth, has reassured residents who source water from the Black River, as well as business operators, that all steps have been taken to return the river to its natural state following an oil leak last Monday.

The company notified the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) that a defective oil cooler had leaked approximately 30 gallons of oil into the river.

Last Thursday, residents of Bagdale told the Jamaica Observer that for a short time, their lives were disrupted by the leak.

“Inna di evening (Monday) mi si dem come, spread some things cross it and a try stop it. [It was] pure oil; people a wash and a di black oily water dem a wash inna. Even before the oil, slime did a come down. It did deh pon top of the water. Di hot and cold water build up di slime,” a resident, who gave her name as Kesan, said.

She said, however, that she noticed a difference on Thursday when she went to wash, although she noticed “a smell” that she associated with the leak.

Other residents, who said they source water to drink, cook and shower from the river, continued to express concern about the safety of the water.

“We don’t have water in di pipe; is it wi drink so wi want to know if it safe now,” another resident said.

Chairman of the J Wray and Nephew Clement ‘Jimmy’ Lawrence told the Observer that the company deployed a team to conduct an internal test which revealed that there was “no negative impact on the river”.

He said that the team also conducted cleaning up exercises which were “successful” and pointed to a news release from NEPA, Wednesday, which said that the agency was satisfied with the clean-up and remediation efforts undertaken by J Wray and Nephew.

Lawrence added that once there is a leak, an environmental team inspects the area to determine the nature of it, what activities should be taken to restore the environment to its normal condition and make the necessary notification to the relevant agencies.

Environmental Health and Safety Director at J Wray and Nephew, Alicia Burnett, explained that an oil sorbent boom and a containment boom were placed in the river 200 metres south of Bagdale bridge, where oil was observed in the water, and at Maggoty, where none was observed as a preventative measure, to assist with clean-up efforts.

Booms are temporary floating barriers used to contain oil spills. They are used to reduce the possibility of polluting shorelines, rivers and other resources, and to help make recovery easier.

“So the leak was contained within the river itself and the clean-up was successful,” Burnett said.

“Every day we come and monitor in front of the booms to see if any is trapped in front of it that is not yet being absorbed. We have everything cleaned up. Anything else that may be coming down could either be from another source or remnants of oil that may have been on leave along the edges of the river,” she added.