WESTERN BUREAU — The St James Parish Council has commenced a $2-million refurbishing exercise at the Montego Bay abattoir which was ordered closed by the health authorities on Wednesday.

According to the Council’s public relations officer, Suzette Brown, work began on the facility late this week and is expected to last for three weeks.

She said the refurbishing exercise would be carried out in two phases at a cost of $4.5 million.

“In phase one, the Council will effect repairs to the roof and install proper lighting. A holding area will also be provided for animals and the property fenced,” Brown added.

Work during the second phase will include the installation of a boiler, which will be used for sanitising equipment and utensils used in carcass preparation and inspection.

The Montego Bay abattoir has long been a source of concern for the St James Health Department, which has called for its closure in the past. Over the last four months, the department served at least three statutory notices on the Council for remedial work to be carried out at the facility.

Last week, chief public health inspector for the county of Cornwall, Desmond Clarke, warned members of the Council’s health committee that the present conditions at the abattoir could not continue. He also told the meeting that a team of inspectors from his department was scheduled to carry out an inspection of the facility and warned that if the conditions there remained the same, a closure notice would be served on the Council.

Last year, Horace Chang, the Jamaica Labour Party caretaker for North-West St James called on the health authorities to have the facility closed. At that time, he said conditions at the facility were filthy and unhealthy and caused an unbearable odour in sections of the tourist resort.

The long-standing concerns of the health department include:

* the absence of a holding area for animals to be slaughtered which may lead to inadequate bleeding of the carcasses and inferior meat;

* the dumping of waste in the sea;

* failure to remove refuse on a daily basis;

* the presence of cats and other animals in the slaughter area;

* lack of adequate security; and

* lack of proper sanitation.

Clarke told the Observer shortly before the closure notice was issued that while some remedial work was recently done at the facility, the critical areas of concern were not addressed.

“There have been some improvements in the lighting and sanitation at the facility but critical areas such as the proper waste management practices and the presence of animals in the slaughter area are yet to be addressed,” the health official stressed.

Meanwhile, the over 40 butchers at the Montego Bay abattoir will now have to slaughter their animals at the slaughter houses located in the communities of Flower Hill, Somerton, Anchovy and Kensington.