Massive diesel spill

A massive underground diesel spill has been discovered at TransNamib’s locomotive refuelling depot in Walvis Bay. It is accepted diesel could have been spilled and seeping undetected into the ground at the railway yard for the past half a century.

A report saw by namib times confirmed this. Disturbingly, the spill seeped into most of subterranean Walvis Bay.
During an investigation the past several weeks, it was learnt TransNamib has already started with a cleanup project that involve the excavation of a large hole near the locomotive refuelling area. Seawater containing high concentrations of diesel seeps from underground into this large hole (pictured above). The diesel is then extracted from the water in the hope that if this project is continued, the massive underground diesel spill can clear.
TransNamib also started to excavate contaminated soil and replace it with a mixture of gypsum and dune sand. That explains the large heaps of sand in TransNamib’s locomotive yard bordering 5th Road towards the port of Walvis Bay’s south gate.
“We suspect that the South African railway regime Spoornet has been responsible for this spill for at least the last 25 years before Walvis Bay reintegration in 1994”, confirmed a source close to the project.
Adding when TransNamib took over railway operations the situation continued unabated where diesel is allowed to spill onto the ground during refuelling operations.
It was explained locomotive refuelling requires high volumes of diesel daily, and the situation compounded over a period of fifty years.
When the large underground spill was detected months ago, several boreholes had been drilled at locations across Walvis Bay. Water samples revealed a high concentration of diesel which is now thought to be present in most of subterranean Walvis Bay.
“I don’t want to exaggerate the situation, but Walvis Bay is literally located on a mixture of watery, sandy soil drenched in diesel. I don’t think TransNamib understands the magnitude of the problem that this spill and contamination could take decades to overcome. Chemical treatment of the soil is one of the solutions, but it will cost tens of millions of Namibian Dollars”, a second source explained this week.
Due to the sensitivity of the problem neither TransNamib sources and an independent source wanted to be named.
A copy of the report will be made available to namib times in the course of the weekend, where after the full content will be studied and questions asked to TransNamib, Namport [the owner of the land on which the railway yard is located] and the municipality of Walvis Bay as the custodian