Latest update March 24th, 2025 7:05 AM
ExxonMobil dodges question on whether operations can lead to cancer, other diseases
…says taking measures to ensure safety of workers
Kaieteur News- ExxonMobil Guyana Limited (EMGL) has refused to vouch for the safety of its operations where cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are involved.
The issue was raised by Kaieteur News during a public scoping meeting for the company’s eighth proposed project- Longtail- hosted at the New Diamond Grove Primary School, Diamond, East Bank Demerara.
On Friday, a small group attended the meeting, causing the session to start an hour later than scheduled. Following a presentation by Exxon’s In-Country Projects Manager, Rebecca Cvikota, on the proposed development, citizens were invited to share their concerns and questions, related to the project.
Also in attendance at the session were officers of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the consultancy firm, Acorn International.
A senior journalist attached to this newspaper specifically asked the EMGL Projects Environmental and Regulatory Manager, Mariya Skocik, to say whether the company studied the likelihood of offshore workers, or any other Guyanese, developing NCDs as a result of flaring, or any other petroleum-related activities, given that hazardous waste is also generated during the operations.
Skocik, in response, explained this was studied previously. She said, “It has been done for prior projects. Earlier, I mentioned the industrial hygienists, roles that we have of staff, to be sure to conduct those assessments of health of the workers and if there are any kind of mitigations like PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for example, that would be implemented.”
EMGL Projects Environmental and Regulatory Manager, Mariya Skocik (right) and Exxon’s In-Country Projects Manager, Rebecca Cvikota
Exxon’s In-Country Projects Manager added that flaring is conducted at a safe distance away from the workers offshore. She explained, “So the flare is a good example of one of the safety equipment we use that we talked about earlier, but it’s located at a very high distance from the ground, for exactly the reason of protecting the people around it, whether they be on the FPSO, or in a city, or village which we operate.”
Cvikota also noted that the company conducts modeling to determine how high the flare should be and how conditions such as wind and currents would impact the emissions. As such, she pointed out, “That helps us ensure that we design our facilities to prevent any impact to the people that live around and work around it every day.”
This newspaper then pressed the team to say whether it is likely for Guyanese to be exposed to cancer as a result of the company’s operations. To this end, Cvikota said, “What I’m saying is we design our facilities to ensure that is not the case, so the height of the flare is an example of how we do that, where we position the flare in relation to the communities and in the case of the FPSO, how far it is away from where people are located, are ways that we design and construct our facilities to avoid (that).”
Kaieteur News then asked Exxon if, due to the mechanisms in place, there was no likelihood of any worker, or any Guyanese contracting any type of NCDs as a result of the company’s operations. Reluctant to give any assurance in this regard, the Projects Manager said, “What I can tell you is how we design and construct our facilities to ensure that that does not happen and I think I’ve explained that so I appreciate the question and I think that’s all I can say at this point.”
(ExxonMobil dodges question on whether operations can lead to cancer, other diseases )
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