NSP oil leak 'almost cleaned up'

An oil spill that was discovered at the end of December in Milton, Nova Scotia, Canada has almost been cleaned up. The spill occurred at the Nova Scotia Power (NSP) substation and involved around 5,000 litres of mineral oil. The company has said the majority of the land affected was its own and that clean-up operations are almost complete. 

The spill was discovered in late December and workers immediately took steps to contain it, according to NSP. Any soil that has been affected by the oil is being removed from the site and disposed of in full compliance with the Nova Scotia Department of Environmental health, Neera Ritcey, a spokesperson for NSP, told the Queens County Advance. 

According to NSP, the oil leaked from one of the transformers on the site, although the company did not say how long it was thought the equipment had been leaking.

Although most of the spill was confined to NSP property, some of the oil has affected other land, which is also being cleaned-up. However, NSP has come under fire from local residents after no early warning was issued concerning drinking well water, reports CTV News. 

NSP has raised concerns that the well water may be affected, but according to residents living near the site of the incident, the warning came after a week of clean-up operations.

It is not known if the mineral oil leak has indeed affected local water sources or whether the warning is just a precaution until testing can confirm that the water is safe for consumption.

The company does not believe the oil has spread to beyond the area that has been contained, but once the spill has been cleaned up, monitoring of the soil in the area will take place to ensure there are no further problems.

Currently crews are still working at the affected site to complete operations, but it is expected, from what NSP have said about progress, that the clean-up will not take much longer.