RESIDENTS of south-east St Ann have come out strongly against a proposal to have an aluminium plant established at Lydford in the parish, citing the risk of health and environmental problems.

“In every country and every community where an aluminum plant is erected, the residents suffer – health-wise, financial-wise and everything else. Reynolds was bad enough. The men who used to work in the mines have all died leaving their wives,” said an irate Lavonida Edwards, a resident of Golden Grove. “I know of men who, after being exposed to the bauxite environment over an extended period, started coughing blood. It’s not just the caustic soda, it is also the other chemicals. Nobody is being honest.”

Added Edwards: “Let me ask this question, the persons who intend to sign this deal, would they be willing to come and live in Golden Grove once that plant is there? Would they want to live in Ewarton or Nain for that matter, where the residents are suffering?”

Patrick McIntosh, country manager for Mincenco – the company conducting the feasibility study for the project – acknowledged that the residents’ concerns are genuine. But he said they would be addressed should the decision be taken to build the plant there.

“Sure, their concerns are legitimate concerns and we will be addressing all of them. As for the business sector, we understand their concerns too and we will be talking with the various stakeholders to try and address their needs,” McIntosh said in an interview with Environment Watch.

He added that there would have to be some relocation of people (homes and businesses), while environmental groups would be kept abreast of the progress of the development. At the same time, he said that the plant would be state-of-the-art, such that that some of the concerns expressed by the residents might not materialise. It would employ about 1,000 people directly while impacting the economic activities of several others.

However, his assurances were not enough to quell the anger of several residents and business operators in communities such as Moneague, Lumsden, Higgin Town, Colegate, Lydford, Golden Grove and Claremont who will be affected should the go-ahead be given to build the plant.

recent meeting at the Claremont office of the member of parliament, Lisa Hanna, residents made it clear that they were strongly opposed to the bauxite plant in the constituency, using the experiences of refineries in St Elizabeth, Manchester, St Catherine and Clarendon as examples of the ills of such a venture.

They also complained of not being consulted amidst ongoing negotiations and were not appeased by the promise of 1,000 jobs. According to the residents, there is no guarantee that people from within their communities will get these jobs since they would have to be qualified.

In their quest to find answers and to get information and advice, they have turned to the Northern Jamaica Conservation Association (NJCA) for help. NJCA, for its part, said the project was not worth the risk to people’s health and the environment.

“Regarding the environment, one of the main concerns would be, where do you put the huge amount of waste that would be generated when that refinery is in operation?” asked NJCA boss Wendy Lee.

Mincenco – a company formed by the amalgamation of the USA-based Century Aluminum and its Chinese counterpart, China Min Metal Corporation – is currently trying to determine if there are sufficient amounts and high enough quality bauxite left in South East St Ann to warrant the construction of an aluminum plant. Reynolds Bauxite already mined sections of the constituency several years ago.

The feasibility study started in July and will last about a year. It will, among other things, determine the quantity and quality of the bauxite deposits available in the area. Once completed, should the go-ahead be given to build the plant, construction will begin within six months, making for a January 2010 start date, McIntosh said.

The one-and-a-half million-tonne capacity plant would take two years to build and it is estimated that it would cost “well over US$1 billion”.