Hundreds of cisterns across a broad swath of St. Croix have been checked for oil contamination in the wake of oil aerosol incidents at the Hovensa refinery in late September, with fewer than 4 percent showing signs of oil.
Hovensa is taking the samples from cisterns and roofs, with oversight from the local Department of Planning and Natural Resources and the federal Environmental Protection Agency, according to statements from each of these organizations.
José Font, EPA’s deputy director for the Caribbean Environmental Protection Division, EPA Region 2, gave an update on the situation Thursday by phone.
"We’re providing assistance in investigating and cleaning the cisterns by determining how best to clean them up, how they should do sample collection and making the determination of when they are clean," Font said. Samples are being sent to an independent lab and the V.I. Health Department; the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also being informed and consulted, Font said.
As of Thursday, some 635 cisterns had been sampled, with 25 showing signs of oil and 491 clearly testing negative, Font said. That leaves another 119 with indeterminate test results. Cleanup has been completed on 12 and is pending on another 13, he said.
A product called Extreme Simple Green is being used to clean the cisterns, Font said. Simple Green, the company that makes the product, touts it as a solvent-free, non-corrosive biodegradable grease-cutting industrial strength cleaner for airplane and specialty parts. It is made with "all low toxicity components," and its predominant active ingredient is the surfactant triethanolamine, according to the Simple Green website.
Because residents of affected neighborhoods must wait for test results on their drinking water, Hovensa has set up water distribution sites in Estate Clifton Hill, at Youths with a Mission, in Estate Diamond Ruby and Church of Christ, in Estate Strawberry Hill. So far, those sites have given out 3,716 gallons of drinking water, Font said. Hovensa has also issued 448 vouchers for car washes, of which 78 have been redeemed.
Oil droplets have been found on roofs in Clifton Hill, Profit, including Harvey Housing Community, Castle Burke, Upper and Lower Love, The Herbert Grigg Home, the St. Croix campus of UVI, Central High School, St. Croix Educational Complex, the V.I. Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices, the Wilfred Allick Container Port, Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, V.I. Superior Court complex and Croixville homes, according to a statement from Hovensa.
No oil was found in inspections of New Works, Bethlehem, Calquohoun, Coble, Areao Diaz Homes, Alfredo Andrews Elementary School, John H. Woodson Junior High, Charles Emanuel Elementary, Golden Grove Homes, estates Paradise, Grove Place, Mount Pleasant, Williams Delight, Carlton, Whim, Good Hope, Campo Rico, Hannah’s Rest, Two Brothers or Smithfield. Enfield Green was initially reported to be affected, but recent inspection visits found no oil droplets.
"We deeply regret the inconvenience experienced by residents due to these incidents and will do all we can to resolve that safely and quickly," Hovensa President David Huffman said in a statement. The refinery is asking residents who see oil spots in their area to contact the Hovensa call center at 692-3999.
DPNR’s Division of Fish and Wildlife notified the EPA of five dead birds found at St. Croix’s molasses pier, Font said. "One of the birds was handed to Hovensa for a necropsy to determine the cause of death," he said. "None were endangered species." They are not necessarily connected to the oil spray incident, but the tests will help make that determination, he said.
The most recent aerial oil release happened in connection with a large oil flare Sept. 30. When a processing unit at the refinery developed problems, Hovensa diverted heavy oil to a ground flare, which burned the oil, producing a massive opaque black cloud.
According to the refinery, its air quality tests found no "substance" in the air "at a level exceeding the standard established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Association." Some of the heavy oil also flowed into a low-pressure elevated flare, where it sprayed out and was carried downwind. Hovensa also sprayed a vapor cloud of oil into the atmosphere early Sunday morning when a small line in a desulfurizing unit burst.
"At this time we are concentrating our efforts in overseeing response efforts and working with them on remediation," Font said, when asked if EPA was looking at possible citations against Hovensa.
"I’m not saying no, just that our focus is not on those efforts at this time," he said. "At some point we may come back, but not right now."
There have been several similar oil-spray events over the years. In fall of 2008, Clifton Hill and Profit homes were sprayed and Hovensa subsequently cleaned the roofs, gutters and cisterns of affected homes.
In 2006, water mixed with crude oil triggered a pressure-release valve, spraying out more than 100 gallons of oil in a fine mist. The contamination from that incident was confined within the boundaries of Hovensa. In 2005, water mixed with hot oil also resulted in an airborne oily mist. Roads were closed briefly and monitoring stations set up, but there was no report of contamination outside the plant.
In 2002, spray from a pressure-release valve led to warnings to Clifton Hill and Profit residents not to use their cistern water, but subsequent tests contracted by Hovensa showed no effect on area water supplies.
