Sunyani (B/A) Jan. 8 GNA - It would be hasty to conclude that fish-kills in a water storage facility (WSF) at Newmont Gold Ghana Limited (NGGL)Ahafo Mine resulted from cyanide spillage, a Senior Programme Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said. Mr Sylvester Awozum, Senior Programme Officer of EPA in Sunyani, on Friday said it would be hasty to conclude that fish-kills (dead fishes) found in the water storage facility in the Asutifi District of Brong-Ahafo Region resulted from cyanide spillage by NGGL.

He said; 93from the initial investigations of the EPA the cause of the dead fishes cannot be established" adding, 93our visual appraisal of the water colour of the WSF showed that it was natural and further when we went round the facility, we saw that there were live aquatic activities". The WSF is a dam constructed to store raw water that is used at the processing plant of the Company, Mr Awozum explained.

Mr Awozum, who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani after leading a two-man team from the EPA on Friday to conduct initial investigations, confirmed that dead fishes were found in th= e WSF. Residents in communities such as Dokyikrom-Tutuka claimed that fish-kills found in the dam resulted from cyanide spillage. They added that the dam was the source of their drinking water.

The Senior Programmes Officer stated that the Company's Community Pat= rol Team (CPT) found dead fishes, mainly Tilapia in the WSF on Thursday, saying after informing the EPA in Sunyani around 1700 hours the Company then dispatched a team to the site to do preliminary investigations. He said that team took four water samples from various points of the WS= F for analysis and added that at the first point, 114 dead fishes were found. Prior to that, the Company had taken a sample of water for cyanide analysis at their own laboratory, Mr Awozum said, and, 93according to the Company they did not detect any traces of cyanide in the water". The WSF, according to the Senior Programmes Officer 93is a restricted zone" and sign posts have been erected prohibiting entry into that area. He said; 93when our team reached there, we realized that there has been human activity including digging at some points close to the banks of the WSF. We also found four fishing hooks suggesting that probably the diggings might have been done to find earth-worms that were used as bait on the hook for fishing".

He observed that even though the WSF area was a no entry zone for unauthorized persons, human activities occurred there since the residents o= f the communities around trespassed to undertake fishing expedition. The Senior Programmes Officer stressed that the EPA had, therefore, asked NGGL to preserve the water samples and some of the dead fishes for them to conduct further investigations.