MONROVIA – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said no harm was caused to the Small Bomi Community, a town located after Sinje, Bomi County following an accident involving a truck transporting 22 bags of 26 metric tons of ammonium nitrate.
The truck, with registration number TR-007, was driven under the fleet of Sayminee Transport Services, a register chemical transporter, was enroute to New Liberty Gold Mines in Grand Cape Mount County from the Port of Buchanan when it accidently veered off the left side of the road about 75 meters along the drainage and hit an embankment causing the vehicle to tip over.
The accident occured on Saturday, 19th February 2022, at about 5:53 am, resulting into spill of about 10 metric tons of ammonium nitrate at the top of the embankment.
The incident, the EPA said, caused substantial damage to the cabin of the truck and resulted into multiple injuries to the head, right arm and left leg of the driver, Mr. Raymond S. Howard, who was immediately rushed to the St. Timothy Hospital in Robertsport, where he underwent surgery and is currently undergoing treatment.
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound, and it’s a white crystalline solid consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water. Predominantly, it is used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilizer and also to carryon explosion in mining activity.
EPA said its technicians assigned to the Joint Security Team escorting the chemical convoy notified the Agency about the incident. The Agency immediately dispatched a team of technicians to assess the situation, engage the community, record environmental data and supervise the recovery process.
The EPA emergency response team arrived onsite at about 9:30 a.m.
The team, the EPA said, had a town hall meeting with the community and explained the incident management system. The community engagement allayed public fear and provided an overview of ammonium nitrate.
After the town hall meeting, the EPA recorded environmental quality data and supervised the complete cleanup of the spill by the Bea Mountain Mining Company’s Environmental Team.
The EPA, meanwhile, clarified that no residue of ammonium nitrate remained after the cleanup process. “No water sources were observed within 10 meters radius of the area and the incident is unlikely to cause any adverse environmental or health risk to residents of the Small Bomi Community,” the EPA said.
The EPA has also clarified that Bea Mountain Mining Company and its supplier, KAPEKs, complied with all guidelines governing the importation, transport, handling and storage of the current consignment of 5,000 metric tons of ammonium nitrate.
BMMC and KAPEks also obtained all documents required to meet full compliance (Ministry of Mines and Energy Clearance: RL/MME/GEM/018/2022/RL; Ministry of Justice Clearance: FMD/M-AG/MOJ/039/2022/RL; EPA Clearance: ED/EPA-01/00298/22/RL).
During the transportation of the ammonium nitrate from Buchanan to New Liberty Gold Mine, the Joint Security Team (MOJ, MME and EPA) provided escort for each convoy. This ensured an adequate response to the incident of 19th February 2022.
The Agency has lauded the Joint Security Team and residents of Small Bomi for their support during the emergency response, adding that the EPA remains committed to working with all stakeholders, both public and private, to ensure that the environment remains safe at all times.
The Agency has also reassured the public of its inalienable commitment to ensuring a clean, healthy and safe environment for this and succeeding generations.