The General Prosecutor for Environment and Natural Resources, Andres Chalas, is considering pressing charges against those responsible for the gas leak that caused the hospitalization of more than 40 children and adults in Santo Domingo last Monday (see DR1 Daily News 25 October 2005), as reported in Diario Libre. Dominican Petroleum Refinery (Refidomsa) president Aristides Fernandez Zucco was replaced on Tuesday because of the accident. Chalas explained that he is waiting for a report being prepared by the Department of Environmental Management to determine whether legal action should be taken.
Listin Diario reports that Regulations and Systems (Digenor) Director Julio Santana, stated that preliminary investigations have determined that there was negligence involved in Monday’s gas leak. There was no supervision of the management of the substance and it appears that it was negligence on the part of technicians manipulating the container with ethyl mercaptan that caused the problem. He recommended an inspection not only at Refidomsa, but also at other plants such as Coastal, in San Pedro de Macoris, Azua and other locations where the substance is used. He also favors legal action against the technicians responsible and operations managers at Refidomsa as this is a case of national security. Santana explained that the toxic gas is not managed adequately at Refidomsa since the tank should be connected to the ground; filtration of water should be avoided inside the tank whereas the company explained it had been washed with water. Other considerations are that air should be extracted from the system before pumping in the gas and cannot be allowed back inside the container, which must be kept distant from ignition sources, including electrical wiring, and that was not complied with.