Two Crane, West Coast of Demerara (WCD) families are bemoaning the slothfulness of the authorities in telling them, what is the black ooze that has been seeping into their homes.
The occurrence has baffled residents, with many suggesting that the mysterious substance could be crude, given its oil-like consistency. At least one resident has reported symptoms she suspects could have come from exposure to the substance that started to penetrate the ceramic tiles in her living room last month.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the entity that is looking into the matter but has not been swift in delivering closure to the residents. For those two families, it is the unknown that torments them.
“Is not knowing that is affecting (me) mentally,” said Basmattie Singh, 62, who resides at Crane Old Road. She told the Guyana Standard on Saturday that she started feeling light-headed, experiencing nausea, had a burning sensation on her skin, in her eyes, and in her nostrils, along with a dry throat, if exposed to the affected area for too long.
Guyana Standard was invited into her home, and our reporter was cautioned by residents present that prolonged exposure could lead to headaches, though only a brief episode of light-headedness occurred, which subsided after moving to a better-ventilated area.
Others present in the home during the visit also described feeling queasy and experiencing dryness in their nose and throat while near the affected area, now sealed with plastic.
Singh shared that since the discovery, she has spent her days resting in a hammock under a backyard shed, where she has set up a temporary kitchen. She expressed her frustration at being unable to fully enjoy the home she worked so hard to build, saying that the uncertainty feels like “waiting for a slow death.”
Singh told this publication that since the discovery was made on October 3, teams of men from the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC), the EPA and ExxonMobil have visited and taken samples. However, she has only received informal, speculative responses which she said were ridiculous, at best.
One reason given to her was the oil residue from cooking in the kitchen was somehow travelling under the ground and appearing in another location. She said that one man even suggested to her that her lotion was causing her skin to flare up and that the mystery substance could be the grout or tile cement used in the tiling process.
Those same responses were also given to Nandanie Singh, who lives in the Crane Housing Scheme. The young woman said that samples were also taken but she is still to receive the findings.
The young mother said that since the discovery, several persons in her home, including herself and her baby son, have had bouts of fever, skin pain and runny nose. Those symptoms, she said, subsided after a few days. Her household has felt no burning sensation from coming in contact with the substance, which she said appeared in her kitchen late last year and has now found its way near her bathroom a few feet away.
Nandanie also expressed frustration with the EPA. She said that she can no longer cook in her kitchen and has cordoned off sections of the home so that her baby cannot enter those areas where the substance is appearing.
The EPA in a statement close to two weeks ago, said that the samples were tested by the Forensic Laboratory and the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB). It said that both physical observations and “expert” analysis had also indicated that the substance found in the homes of these residents, were not petroleum based. The agency also reported that the air quality results indicate the air is within World Health Organization (WHO) standards for the locations assessed.
