Ear, nose and throat specialist Dr Austin Trinidade says the inhalation of toxic fumes from fires at landfill sites is harmful to the elderly and the young. On Monday, a fire started at the Guanapo landfill site. Earlier this year, fires at the Beetham dump caused smoke carrying toxic fumes to cover Port-of-Spain, which forced the shutdown of schools, business and government offices.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Trinidade said: “People who are suffering from pulmonary diseases because they have hyper response airways, like chronic bronchitis, are at risk. “So any toxic fumes will exacerbate their symptoms. I don’t know what toxic materials were burnt but the fumes are harmful to those between the ages of six and seven and the elderly.”
An official at the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) said the authority visited the landfill. “We were notified by the ODPM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management) on Monday and conducted a site visit and a preliminary assessment,” she said. The official (who did not wish to be named) said residents were not seriously affected and no complaints were made.
She said the EMA was more for industrial issues and not for the landfill sites. “SWMCOL (Solid Waste Management Company Ltd) has taken responsibility over the landfill and they called the Fire Service and County Medical Department,” she said. David Manswell, general manager of communications, sales and marketing at SWMCOL, said the fire was contained but not extinguished.
“The fire is now contained, resulting in a significant reduction in the amount of smoke hovering over the community,” he added. The Guanapo landfill will remain closed for the next 48 hours. Waste haulers are again advised to divert to the other landfills at Beetham and Forres Park.