Residents in the path of an oily vapor cloud, accidentally released by Hovensa early Sunday morning, can pick up free bottled drinking water at the Youth With A Mission facility in Estate Diamond Ruby, according to the Hovensa oil refinery.
Residents can pick up the water from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Hovensa is also going door to door and collecting water samples from the home water cisterns in the potentially affected area, sending the samples off-island for analysis by a certified independent laboratory, according to both Hovensa and the V.I. Health Department.
Health and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources are overseeing the testing to confirm the samples are free of hydrocarbons.
Just after 6 a.m. Sunday, a small line in a desulfurizing unit at Hovensa burst, according to the company. Vacuum gas oil sprayed for about 20 minutes before being contained. The substance is a mix of partially distilled petroleum products that Hovensa spokesman Alex Moorhead said has been described as similar in appearance and consistency to diesel fuel.
Some residents have reported spots of the spray on their property, which may be safely washed off with soap and water, according to Moorhead.
"It weathers quickly, by which I mean it will evaporate; so there may not be much residue to clean but that is being assessed at the moment," Moorhead said Wednesday.
On Monday, the departments of Health and of Planning and Natural Resources publicly advised residents of Estates Barren Spot, Ginger Thomas, Sunny Acres, and Strawberry not to use water from their cistern for human consumption until further notice.
Sampling is occurring right now, with officials knocking on doors and asking to come in and take a sample. If no one is home at the time, they are leaving a note asking the residents to call and arrange a good time to come by, Health Department Public Information Officer Eunice Bedminster said Wednesday.
"If you get a note on your door, make sure to call back that number right away so you can find out quickly if your water is OK," Bedminster said.
Residents of the aforementioned neighborhoods may call Hovensa’s hotline at 692-3999 regarding their property and any concerns they may have, according to a statement from Hovensa. Hovensa is doing visual inspection of properties in the area with oversight from DPNR and Health. Results of these inspections, along with the information received from the call center, are being collected and will be reviewed by government regulators and Hovensa as they determine the next steps to take.
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.
