By Cameron Weston
PETROL leaking from an underground pipeline in Newport is contaminating the local water supply and causing health problems, traders and residents say.
People living and working in the vicinity of Market St and Champion Rd have reported severe headaches, nausea and stomach complaints, and have noticed “petrol smells” coming from tap and toilet water.
One local trader, who asked not to be named, said people living and working in the area were deeply concerned about their health and believed the matter was being “covered up”.
“A lot of local traders and residents around the area are really upset,” the trader said.
“People have been suffering severe headaches and the smell (of petrol) is very strong. People are worried about what this kind of exposure will do to their health in the future.”
The trader said many locals believed that the source of the contamination was a leak discovered in a Mobil petrol pipeline in Newport on 6 December last year.
At that time, an underground pipeline was found to be discharging petrol into stormwater drains in the Market St area, prompting emergency services to shut down the street.
However, a Mobil spokesman refused to draw a link between the 6 December leak and more recent reports of water contamination.
“There is no reason to believe there is any connection between the two incidents at this stage,” he said.
“There clearly is hydrocarbon in the ground in that area but whether that is as a result of the hole in our pipeline or other factors is really not yet conclusively known.
“There is no indication of any leaks from any other pipelines that we have running through the area.”
City West Water managing director Anne Barker said the water utility received a report of “a petrol smell in the water supply of an industrial site in Newport” on 29 January.
“The industrial site is near where a leak in an oil company pipeline was detected some weeks ago,”she said.
Ms Barker said the contamination appeared to be confined to one site but this was yet to be confirmed.
She said that City West Water was providing “alternative drinking water” to affected customers until the source of the contamination was confirmed.
Environment Protection Authority (EPA) spokeswoman Ruth Ward said following the 6 December leak, a section of pipe was replaced and stormwater drains flushed, to minimise the build-up of dangerous chemicals.
Ms Ward said further testing would conclusively determine the source of the contamination, and sought to assure concerned residents that their health was not at risk.
“These compounds are highly odorous and may be detected by smell well before reaching levels that might affect health,” she said.
“The EPA’s testing … confirmed that these compounds are well below levels of detection and at less than 1 per cent of the acceptable levels for human health.
“Our advice is that the facilities in the area are safe but as a precautionary measure EPA has directed Mobil to undertake continued monitoring.”
Ms Ward said the EPA was continuing to investigate the incident with a view to taking enforcement action.
