Oil Spills should never be allowed to happen

Now that carnival has come and gone and the revelry that marks one of the pillars of our cultural and national identity is departed until next year, allow me some space to comment on a tragedy that has affected another symbol of our national identity; the Great Salt Pond.
Although this increasingly sad body of water may be seen by many as an eyesore or as the promise of future land on which to build brothels and casinos, it remains the reason why there in fact is a St.Maarten and why we live on it. The pond is where our ancestors mined salt and it is where, during the profound Caribbean sunrises, the morning light used to paint pastel colours on her wavelets. It is where there still is a unique wetland ecosystem with numerous species of flora and fauna and it is where, just last week, hundreds of revellers made their lap ‘round the pond’. And, apparently, its has also become the unfortunate dumping ground for oil.

Allow me to explain a few things about oil and oil spills. Technically, an oil spill is the release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbons into the environment due to human activity. Non-technically it is a nasty, poisonous mess that takes decades to disappear. This release can either be accidental as in the present disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, or it can be intentional. An oil spill has wide ranging effects on both nature and human health. Contact with oil can cause kidney damage, liver failure, gastro-intestinal irritation, and eventually death in all animals. It also causes a reduction in the ability of marine plants and coral to photosynthesize and significantly reduces local fish stock. In humans contact with oil can cause skin irritations and rashes, gastro-intestinal irritations and, if the vapours are inhaled, irritation of the lungs. More disturbingly, a study conducted on populations affected by oil spills has shown that there were increased incidents of liver and kidney failure and hormonal imbalances resulting in infertility and cancer. It is worrying to think about the effects this spill might have on the people that live and work near where the spill was, not to mention on those inhaling the fumes while dancing and enjoying themselves in jump-ups and attending shows last week (some of the most harmful fumes are odourless, i.e. you can’t smell ‘em). But the real sad thing is that spills are not limited to the Great Bay area.

A couple months ago there were two significant spills in Cay Bay. Some of the oil washed ashore turning the sand black and the air foul. Some of the oil was carried out to sea where it affected the sea-grass beds and coral reefs and contaminated the local fish stock. Days before the Cay Bay spill sea turtle hatchlings were discovered at the Seaside Nature Park. They were the lucky ones, having dodged a foul smelling, pitch black, and viscous bullet. Very few are as lucky. There are also frequent spills in certain parts of the Simpson Bay Lagoon and in Oyster Pond which, incidentally, is not very far from some of the most pristine coral reef systems and fishery areas of the island.

If a spill does occur there are numerous ways to get rid of it. The most common method is spraying detergents on the slick, but this only sinks the oil and doesn’t get rid of it. Using biological agents such as some nitrate and sulphite containing fertilizers dissolves the slick but brings with it a number of other environmental issues (such as harmful algal blooms). Burning and scooping up the slick works but takes forever. The second best method uses Bioremediation Accelerators which are ‘green chemicals’ that naturally dissolve the oil through biological processes. But the best solution is to ensure that the oil spill doesn’t happen in the first place. Cleaning a spill is an expensive and time consuming enterprise which puts an incredible strain on both the authorities and the NGO’s that are involved. The United States, with all of its industrial and military might, is catching hell trying to contain the present Gulf Spill and caught hell in Alaska with the Valdez spill (the Gulf of Alaska is only now rebounding after 21 years). All steps should be taken, including legal penalties and monetary fines, to ensure that a spill never happens again. The authorities would have to open all channels of communication and cooperation to address the problem and silence on the issue should never, ever be the option. After all, not only is the environment at stake but the health of the population is in serious danger.

We must realize that if our environment becomes sick so will our society and there is no greater evidence of this than the wilful poisoning of the people, their land and their water. Our society will collapse and descend into chaos and those precious tourism dollars we depend on will be history. We, as a people that are in five months headed into a new chapter of our collective history, need to take pride in our natural and social surroundings and should not, for example, pollute the very thing which has determined us as a people. I would love for my grandchildren to tell me one day “Gramps, we going jamming round the pond” without me having to fear for their health or remind them what the pond used to be and what it meant. It is sad that personal greed and ambition have taken precedence over the wellbeing of our neighbours and our environment. Oil spills are just one of the symptoms of the greater ill faced by our society, as is the disregard for our wetlands, including the pond. And let us not forget what is in a name, for although it is becoming less and less so, it still remains and hopefully will always remain, the Great Salt Pond.