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Guyana must investigate ExxonMobil’s waste disposal plan – Int’l Consultants
The Open Society Institute (OSI) is appealing to Government to keep a watchful eye on how ExxonMobil plans to dispose of potentially hazardous waste while operating here.
The OSI is an international body that aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform.
According to OSI, the environmental consequences of oil are substantial throughout the entire process of development. The Institute said that each stage of the process—exploration, onshore and offshore drilling, refining, pipelines and other forms of transportation—poses serious risks to the ecology and public health.
It said that every environmental medium—air, water, and land—is affected. The Institute said that the degree of environmental harm is determined by operator responsibility, government oversight, and conditions in particular ecosystems. Even in heavily regulated environments, some damage occurs it said.
Further to this, the Institute explained that the disposal of oil wastes from offshore drilling operations is another significant environmental concern. In this regard, the Institute said that an oil platform uses nearly 400,000 gallons of sea water daily as drilling fluids in the extraction process, and, following its use, this oil-tainted water is discharged back into the ocean.
The Institute said, “One of the apparent impacts of offshore discharges has been mercury pollution; eating contaminated fish is increasingly regarded as a substantial cause of human exposure to mercury.
A study found that mercury levels in the mud and sediments beneath oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were 12 times higher than acceptable levels under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards.”
The OSI said that the only way to solve the problems caused by offshore discharges is to capture the wastes and dispose of them in a properly lined waste disposal site on land. It said that Guyana’s Environmental Protection Agency needs to keep a close eye on this area. (SEE LINK FOR FURTHER DETAILS: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/osicoveringoil_20050803.pdf)
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