For nearby residents, no relief in sight from dump fires

Wed, Nov 18th 2015, 10:57 AM

Dorothy McPhee-Rolle, like many residents in Jubilee Gardens, is tired of living in smoke. Whenever the nearby New Providence landfill, off Tonique Williams-Darling Highway, has a fire smoke billows into their homes. It is a problem that many in the community have lived with for nearly a decade.

"This is an ongoing issue," said McPhee-Rolle, as a dozen other residents flanked her.

"ZNS, NB12 and quite a number of the media have already been here in the past and nothing has been done. We are still going through the smoke every night. We still can't sleep. We have young children, some of whom are borderline asthmatic because of the smoke. When is enough going to be enough?

"I know they are saying that they are putting Bahamians first, but can you say to the people in Jubilee Gardens that they are putting us first? Every night we have to lie down in smoke and get up in smoke for two, three weeks at a time. It's totally unfair to us and we need something done. We're not asking for much."

The dump has been burning since last month and the smoke from the fire, as it has done over the years, blanketed nearby neighborhoods.

Renew Bahamas President and CEO Gerhard Beukes said last week the company has undertaken several measures to significantly reduce fires, but it could be several years before the site's "historical problems" are eliminated. Renew Bahamas manages the site.

Tanya Dames-Moncur said she has contemplated moving several times.

"Honestly, if I could afford it, I would have left," the Jubilee Gardens resident said. "I have a special child and it's been really hard for me. I have him on the ventilator most of the time because he has a lot of issues.

"I had to go and I had to buy air filters to deal with the smoke for him. I'll put him in his room and put on the air filter and keep him in there. It's hard for him but he has to stay in there.

"We want the government to deal with it. They need to move the dump to a cay or something."

In a statement yesterday, Renew Bahamas said it empathizes with the residents.

"The company is focusing all efforts to cover down a small angled area along the southern flank, which is producing light and thin smoke," it said. "This particular area is proving challenging to tackle given its height and angle of descent. This area will continue to produce diminishing levels of smoke until fully covered down and eradicated.

"As a resident of the area itself, Renew Bahamas empathizes with the residents of Jubilee Gardens and the surrounding neighborhoods who have had to endure the smoke emanating from this part of the site.

"The company's goal is to achieve what all residents ultimately want - diversion of products away from the conventional landfill in order for its landfill footprint to be reduced, thus ending the fires in the long term. The company will continue in its efforts to bring residents some relief, and eradicate these occurrences over time."

Refuge
Glemis Fernander said she has had to leave her home to seek refuge from the smoke several times.

We've had enough of this smoke," Fernander said. "Everybody is sick and has health issues now. We need the government to assist us in the back here with this health hazard. I had a situation where I had to leave in the middle of the night and find someone to stay by for that night.

"We need an alternative when the dump is burning, a place for us to be. This is crazy. You can close your windows but the smoke still comes in. This is your home so where could you go? You can go out for an hour or two but you have to come back."

Fernander said her daughter, who suffers from asthma, needs special treatment because of the smoke and that, she said, can be costly. She said many residents are disappointed with the lack of communication with the government and officials from Renew Bahamas.

"Let them come out here when it's smoky and spend two or three hours," Fernander said. "Let me see how long they can sit in the back here and inhale this stuff that they are forcing us to inhale for weeks at a time."

Betty Storr said she was diagnosed with phenomena in 2010, which she believes was the result of smoke from the dump. Storr said she never knew that the dump was so close to Jubilee Gardens until she moved in 10 years ago.

Jeremiah Jones said living in the area has caused him to think twice about leaving his windows open.

"Sometimes you leave home and you leave your windows open," he said. "You better not do that because by the time you get home your house will be filled with smoke."

He said someone must be held accountable for this longstanding issue.

"I believe that the government can bring some initial relief," he said.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

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