THE latest pollution incident involving Alcoa Minerals of Jamaica (Jamalco) in Clarendon has caused renewed concern among Hayes residents for their health and that of the environment.

Jamalco was on July 5 served an enforcement notice by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) for the release of caustic liquer at the residue storage area at its Halse Hall refinery, located some 70 metres from Hayes Cornpiece.

The notice — which the company has since appealed — has an effective date of July 6 and required that the company submit a status report, within 28 days, on the integrity of its containing wall or dam face of residual storage area 2 (eastern dam). It also required that Jamalco submit a schedule for the mitigation of the breaches in the dam face or areas that are demonstrating permeability to caustic liquer contained in the residual storage area 2.

Now, more than a month later, the residents have listed among their most pressing concerns not only the quality of their water and the air, but have also raised the issue of compensation for damaged property and health problems, such as asthma, which they associate with the company’s operations.

“When you bathe in this water, this water scratch you. You have to go at a rough part o f the wall to scratch it. I have to use alcohol. Up to children from the area suffering… I was forced to stop drinking this water over 15 years ago,” complained Clinton Wilson, president of the Jamaica Watchdog Citizens’ Association (JWCA) and himself a resident and business operator from the area.

“All they do, right throughout the years, is they dump on us the emissions… and give people a meagre compensation… and little soap to clean up. They don’t business with (the poor) health that people suffer, the personal damage that people suffer…” he added bitterly.

Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, voiced similar concerns.

“Dem deal with you the wickedest way. You a dem next-door neighbour and dem nuh have nothin’ fi do with yuh,” the male resident told the Sunday Observer.

“No benefit we not getting from them. We nah get no work.. Sometimes mi look pon mi car top, is like flour yuh throw pon it…” commented another, referencing the dust challenges presented by the company’s operations.

It is the dust that Denise Ludford credits for her asthma problems and, like other community residents, feared their water had been comprised.

Syfline Codner, too, noted her annoyance with the dust and emissions which leave her curtains dirty.

“I have a serious sinus problem since this dust nuisance… The water now, it cost mi a lot to buy (for drinking) and truck (for bathing),” said Jodie Singh, adding that he spends, on average, $5,000 each month to purchase bottled water.

The residents are calling for compensation and, at least some of them, for relocation.

“This cannot continue to go on in a community like this. We are human beings… We would like for them to relocate these citizens and compensate the citizens for the years of damage…” Wilson insisted. “In case you have people who don’t relocate from the plant, there should be monitors in the air for air pollution.”

The JWCA chairman’s sentiments were echoed by others in the community, though there were those among them, including Donovan Donaldson, who is not optimistic that anything will change.

Jamalco has come out in its own defence, insisting that much of the residents’ concerns are baseless.

“There is no scientific basis for any claim that the company’s operations have contaminated any water source… Apart from Jamalco’s own internal monitoring, sampling and laboratory analysis is routinely done on 17 groundwater and seven drinking water wells associated with Jamalco’s operations by the Water Resources Authority (WRA), independent water specialists, the National Water Commission and JBI (Jamaica Bauxite Institute). Based on their findings, Jamalco is fully compliant with established regulatory requirements. The complaints, therefore, have no basis in fact,” the company said in a written response to Sunday Observer queries.

Jamalco was supported in this by the WRA’s executive director Basil Fernandez.

“I know NEPA has served them an enforcement notice for a leak on the dyke, but it is not an underground leak; basically it is coming through the dyke, I understand, on the surface. It is being picked up and returned into the system,” he said.

“Our data indicates that (at) the Hayes public well that serves the Hayes area, we have not detected any impact of Jamalco’s operations on the water quality,” Fernandez added.

Jamalco has also taken issue with the residents’ assertions that the operations of the bauxite plant is to be blamed for any of their health problems, including asthma.

“This claim has been made from the advent of the (bauxite) industry in Jamaica. After more than 50 years, there is no scientific evidence to validate these claims,” the company said.

At the same time, the company said that it would continue to adhere to environmental best practices.

“Jamalco subscribes to environmental best practices as a matter of policy. We will continue to be vigilant in ensuring that our operations are conducted in a manner that is sensitive to the well-being of our host communities,” the company said.

Further, Jamalco said that despite the residents’ claims, they make significant contributions to communities.

“Jamalco has one of the most comprehensive community programmes of any corporate entity in the Caribbean. Our community development model sits of five critical pillars; capacity building, alternative economic opportunities, social renewal, volunteerism and charity. The company has spent in excess of US$1 million over the last three years on community initiatives,” Jamalco said, listing among its most recent initiatives back-to-school sponsorship to the tune of $3.2 million for community residents; its career advancement programme; and its documentation skills training programme, among others.

The company said it could not offer employment to everyone and suggested that this could be the root of some residents’ complaints.

“Understandably, some persons who would wish to obtain employment at Jamalco cannot be accommodated. This has historically led to a pocket of persons being less than charitable in their attitude to the company. The current complaints are not surprising given the prevailing economic realities. Jamalco has a proud track record of giving back to its host communities and will continue to do so within the limits of available resources,” the company said.

NEPA boss Peter Knight, for his part, said that Jamalco’s track record with dust pollution had improved over time.

“There may be episodes of dust fallout, but I know as a fact that under the NRCA (Natural Resources Conservation Authority) Air Quality Regulations and the fact that they are licensed and the fact that they have to do the various emissions inventory, etc, our tracking has shown that there has been a level of improvement,” he told the Sunday Observer.

While sensitive to the plight of the residents, Knight said the friction between them and the bauxite company would persist, given their close proximity to each other.

“We have to look at the planning framework; it is compulsory. How are we, on the one hand, permitting a type of activity that may be hazardous or may pose a threat to the environment and public health and at the same time permitting human activity?” he asked rhetorically, adding that NEPA would this year undertake a position paper “on this whole contentious issue about development vis-à-vis dwellings and so on”.

Over the short to medium term, Knight said the agency would step up its monitoring and enforcement since it is unlikely that either the community or Jamalco would be relocated.

“One (option) is to relocate the population. The other is that we are going to say to Jamalco that they can’t operate; I don’t think that is a viable option. Or you are going to say the industry and the people can co-exist, but the regulatory arm must be present, it must be intensive, it must take precedence,” he said.

“We have to ensure that our monitoring of activity in and around the plant, not only for Jamalco, but for all such facilities, is improved. And we have to tie that to enforcement, which you saw a glimpse of. We have to do more intensive monitoring and we have to tie that to enforcement,” Knight added.