Makueni County National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Director Leonard Tampushi has warned Mtito Andei residents against using the vegetable oil that spilled when a cargo train veered off the railway line on Tuesday.
The director said that the vegetable oil is an industrial raw material that needs further processing and it is not fit for human consumption.
On Tuesday a cargo train derailed from the railway line and spilled over 750,000 litres of vegetable oil which residents have been scooping since then.
“The vegetable oil that was spilled, needs to be processed further and it cannot be used as it is,” said Tampushi when he spoke to the Kenya News Agency in his office on Thursday.
The director called upon Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) to come up with a restoration and monitoring plan of the polluted area to preserve the environment.
“KRC is expected to submit a restoration plan and submit the same to my office for approval. They are also supposed to map the affected area,” said the director.
A team of environment officers are expected to come from KRC and visit the area on Friday in order to start the restoration programme of the affected area.
By Patrick Nyakundi
