The Incident Management Team (IMT) comprising the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) and the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) continued with spill response activities for the spill incident at the entrance to the Caroni Swamp.
In a joint release on Thursday, the team said to date, it has received no reports of any impacted wildlife within the Caroni Swamp.
It said an air monitoring exercise was conducted in the vicinity of the Caroni Bird Sanctuary Visitor Centre on August 12, to assist in identifying the air pollutants within the impacted areas.
The team noted that field teams comprising representatives from the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries and EMA continued with daily surveillance of spill response measures and other areas.
The IMT said observations from this surveillance revealed that spill containment strategies have been successful and there was no additional substance entering Drain #9.
It added that dead fishes were last observed on August 13, in the main impacted area in Drain #9 between the Tour Guide shed and the Visitor Centre.
Furthermore, the team said visually there has been an improvement in the impacted area as there has been a significant reduction in the presence of any sheen.
It said additional water samples were collected by the IMA on August 15, and results from these will be assessed to determine future monitoring within the Caroni Swamp.
The IMT added it continues to coordinate a joint agency investigation to identify the potential source of this spill incident.
It said it is extremely grateful to the numerous stakeholders who have contacted the team to provide any information or assistance in managing this spill incident.
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