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.
According to the EPA, the incident caused significant damage to the truck’s cabin and resulted in multiple injuries to the driver, Raymond S. Howard. He was immediately rushed to St. Timothy Hospital in Robertsport where he received 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 water-soluble. It is used primarily in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilizer.
EPA stated that the incident was reported to the Agency by its technicians who were part of the Joint Security Team. The Agency immediately dispatched a team to assess the situation, engage with the community, record environmental data, and supervise the recovery process.
The EPA emergency response team arrived on site at 9:30 a.m.
The EPA stated that the team met with the community to explain the incident management system. The community engagement dispelled public fear and gave an overview of ammonium-nitrate.
After the town hall meeting, EPA recorded environmental quality data. The EPA also supervised the complete cleanup by the Bea Mountains Mining Company’s Environmental Team.
EPA clarified that no ammonium nitrate residue was left after the cleanup. “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 also confirmed that Bea Mountain Mining Company (and its supplier, KAPEKs) complied with all guidelines governing current consignment of 5,000 metric tones 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).
The Joint Security Team (MOJ MME and EPA), provided escort service for each convoy during the transport of ammonium nitrate between Buchanan and New Liberty Gold Mine. This provided a prompt response to the incident on 19 February 2022.
The Agency praised the support of the Small Bomi residents and the Joint Security Team during the emergency response. It also stated that the EPA is committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that the environment is safe at all time.
The Agency also assured the public about its inalienable dedication to ensuring a safe, healthy, and clean environment for future generations.