UPDATE: After hearing Brockovich's comments during the KRIS 6 News 5 p.m. newscast, Magellan E&P Holdings, which owns the platform, said that the three things dissipating from the leak are: natural-occurring condensate, water and natural gas.
ORIGINAL:
Tuesday's platform leak near Bob Hall Pier has caused concern from the community after many smelled a gas-like odor and heard a loud jet-engine-like noise from the incident that took place approximately two miles offshore.
Several state and federal governmental agencies are on-site investigating the leak, but plans for its repair are underway.
Magellan E&P Holdings and the U.S. Coast Guard said a lift vessel, the Trinity, will be leaving Galveston on Thursday morning and will take 24 hours to arrive at the site. It is expected to begin repairs Friday and work into Saturday, weather permitting.
Many reached out to environmental activist Erin Brockovich about the dangers this leak could possibly pose to the public.
She validated the community's concerns, saying companies need to be more transparent when an incident like this occurs.
"That, right there, for a company, is what makes the people distrust you," she said. "If you don't know, say you don't know. If you do know, say "It's a chemical. We have mercury in it. We may have, you know, natural gas. You may be smelling oil, you could be smelling the sulphur that comes with it. Tell them, what it is."
Brockovich was adamant that when a community smells something in the air, it is imperative to let the public know right away what the issues could be.
Brockovich believes there would not be so much worry from the public if these kind of companies came out on their own to make statements about these incidents.
"I don't know why companies keep doing this, and maybe they don't know themselves," she said. "They don't want to tell you that 'We've had a blow out, we made a mistake, we are getting it under control and being honest with the people."
