01 Mar 2007

The Results Of The Judicial Site Inspection At Shushufindi-24 Find No Risk To Public Health From Texaco Petroleum Activities

Water Supplies Free Of Harmful Petroleum Compounds

QUITO, Ecuador, 01 Mar 2007 – A review of samples taken during the Shushufindi-24 Judicial Site Inspection proves that the Texaco Petroleum Company (Texpet) remediation of two former pit sites was effectively completed and there is no risk to human health from areas remediated by Texpet. According to the expert report, all soil and water samples showed there to be no harmful concentrations of petroleum-related compounds. The inspection, conducted on October 26, 2005, was undertaken as part of an environmental law suit filed against Chevron Corporation.

The important conclusions of the Shushufindi 24 (SSF-24) court ordered Judicial Inspection are summarized as follows:

  • Texpet met its remediation obligations in relation to the SSF-24 well site. According to the 1995 Contract and the Remedial Action Plan (RAP), Texpet was responsible for remediating Pits 1 and 2 at well site SSF-24. This work was completed by Texpet in August 1996 and was approved by the Government of Ecuador and Petroecuador on November 22, 1996. Soil samples collected during the recent inspection confirm that the remediated pits do not contain unsafe levels of petroleum-related compounds.
  • Water sources in the area surrounding the SSF-24 well site have not been affected by petroleum activities. Drinking water samples collected from wells and springs used by local residents met drinking water standards established for petroleum-related compounds in Ecuador Decree 2144, World Health Organization guidelines, and US Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The only parameters that exceeded drinking water standards in these drinking water samples were fecal and total coliforms, which are not related to the petroleum operations. Groundwater samples collected from a temporary well installed immediately adjacent to remediated Pit 2 similarly found no trace of petroleum-related compounds in the groundwater, confirming there to be no migration of such chemicals from the remediated pits.
  • There is no significant petroleum-related health or environmental risk in areas remediated by Texpet. There were no harmful levels of petroleum-related compounds detected in either soils or water collected from the SSF-24 well site during the Judicial Inspection. This study confirms that there is no risk to human health, animals, or the vegetation from the remediated pits or the historical operations of Texpet at this site.

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