Fuel spill expert to help advise Government on fuel spill recovery.
Dr John Wilson has arrived on the island at the request of the Ministry of the Environment to advise on the gasoline recovery effort being undertaken by RUBiS and their consultants, Arcadis. He will use his considerable expertise to assist the Department of Environment and Natural Resources with monitoring the clean up.
It is expected Dr. Wilson will advise whether additional methods could be utilized to expedite the recovery of the gasoline from the ground while minimizing the risk of any direct or secondary impacts to neighbours.
Dr Wilson has considerable experience and has published in this field. He was employed in this role for the US Environmental Protection Agency until 2014. The contract to Government includes this site visit and consulting on the data submitted until March 2018.
The current monitoring data suggests that the liquid gasoline is contained on the site within 100 ft of the spill location. Gasoline indicators have not been detected in any of the nearest private wells to the south of site, which are monitored daily. The interim vacuum extraction method that has been employed by Arcadis over the past month has recovered some gasoline (4%), which appears to be provisionally in-line with the expected recovery rate from the rock/groundwater some 50 feet below grade. The vacuum extraction is also expected to help contain the spill by limiting its spread. A more sophisticated vacuum extraction system (Soil Vapour Extraction – SVE) is currently en route to Bermuda and will arrive within one week. This will be deployed at 6 new wells that have been drilled over the spill area.
The public will be aware that RUBiS has contracted Arcadis US Inc., a global leader in environmental remediation. Arcadis US Inc.’s specialists are expected to supervise recovery actions and to test for any water table issues. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, as regulators, frequently visit the site to monitor progress.
Photos: Dr John Wilson of Scissortail Environmental Solution LLC attended the site with Dr. Geoff Smith (Environmental Engineer, DENR), Mr. Jim Thomson (Hydrogeologist, DENR), Mr. Graham Redford (Managing Director, Energy Bermuda Limited, not pictured), Mr. Robert Godfrey (Operations Manager, Energy Bermuda Limited), Dr Wilson’s wife, Mrs. Barbara Wilson, who is also a scientist with Scissortail and Mr. Paulo Filippetti (Senior Environmental Scientist, Arcadis). Arcadis are the consultant to RUBiS, and are managing the clean-up of the spill.
