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Last week, Bellona presented its report on the catastrophic fire at the Melkøya LNG plant.
The report claimed that cost savings and weak PSA monitoring were the cause of the fire.
Dagbladet can now report that plant employees have been getting into more manure lately: For over a year, potentially harmful foam with gut bacteria like E-coli has seeped into the Equinor plant.
The poop foam leak was confirmed in a report by Aquateam and Cowi as early as 2019, it has not yet been corrected.
The organization has checked Equinor with the police and fears that employees will tire of working at the Melkøya LNG plant.
If the skin is full: – State propaganda
Septic tank management
The fault lies in the fact that the septic tank sewage leaks into the cooling water system. Equinor tells Dagbladet that they are working to correct the bug and that they have done so for a long time.
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The challenge has been figuring out how gut bacteria are derived, the company told Dagbladet.
– It has been demanded to discover the root cause. We don’t know how gut bacteria sometimes end up in the seawater outlet where foam forms on the plant, Eskil Eriksen, a spokesperson for Equinor, tells Dagbladet.
Eriksen says Equinor is now working on a technical modification of the overflow pipe for gut bacteria to pass from humans into the toilet and into the septic tank, without ending up in the seawater outlet.
– Whose septic tank is the cause of the problem?
– The septic tank comes from a septic tank that belongs to the facility’s administration building, says Eriksen.
Crash report after a catastrophic fire
Shit at lunch
Bellona reported the case to police in Finnmark on Friday.
In the review, Bellona writes, among other things, that gut bacteria from feces can spread to workers’ food. This can be very harmful to health.
«There is a small margin of error for contamination to spread to the buffet lunch or to the steering wheels and handlebars of the homologated vehicles and bicycles used in the area.»Says in the review.
– This is a serious violation of the Work Environment Law and a serious violation of the employees themselves, says Frederic Hauge in Bellona.
“No measures have been started other than the installation of a scaffolding with plastic, so that workers can pass without wading through foam with intestinal bacteria on the walkway where there is a lot of foam and sludge formation. The large amount of foam is blown away by the wind, exposing a larger area of the plant to high levels of bacteria. There is a significant risk of infection for both employees and the local community, “the review further states.
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Equinor says this is wrong:
– Foaming is limited to the area around the seawater outlet. If you are going to work in this area, you must wear protective clothing and equipment. Also, areas with foam are closed. There are standard routines for cleaning before entering common areas or dining areas after working in this area, says spokesperson Eskil Eriksen.
Fear of a salmonella outbreak
Hauge claims Equinor has tried to silence the shitty case, which the company rejects.
– Management has tried to keep this a secret. They left the case to Hammerfest LNG employees. Meanwhile, they have not fixed the problem or implemented the recommended infection control measures. This bears witness to an alarming practice at Equinor, continues Frederic Hauge.
Hauge believes there are reasons to fear that more serious illnesses may also occur as a result of foam poop.
No Salmonella or Legionella were found at the time of sampling, but there is no guarantee that these bacteria will not spread as well. High levels of E. coli show that it is the feces that are spreading, says Hauge.
Equinor: facilities may be closed for a year after a “very serious incident”
Proven respiratory infection
Plant employees notified PSA over the past year, but the audit did not respond, according to Bellona.
– Can working for Equinor be a shitty job?
– We have periodic measurements and there are some cases in which we have detected intestinal bacteria in the seawater extraction area. We have done a lot of work on this issue and we take broadcasting seriously. We are working to fix this, says Eskil Eriksen at Equinor.
It says the company has no reports of environmental damage as a result of the dire emissions.
– A person suffered a respiratory infection and was absent from work a few days after working near the seawater outlet. Whether it’s a respiratory infection due to gut bacteria or something else, we don’t know, says Eriksen.
– How do you shield the workers?
– We have systems to prevent this from posing a risk to the health of those who work in the area. We do this by blocking the areas where there is foam and wearing protective gear. We have also installed a protected tunnel when you enter the area with the seawater outlet, says Eriksen at Equinor.
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– Does this case stink violently?
– We take this seriously. And we’ve worked long and consistently to put a permanent solution in place. We are working on that now.
Equinor does not wish to comment on the Bellona review.