KINGSTON, Jamaica The Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) says that citizens are not being properly advised of the impacts of the Riverton dump fires on public health.

JET in a release Monday said that it has reviewed both air quality reports produced by the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) after the 2012 and 2014 Riverton fires, as well as the air quality data recently released by the Ministry of Health during the March 2015 fire.  

According to the environment watchdog NEPA appears to be relying on models to predict where the worst impact of Riverton fires will be experienced. The actual results obtained by NEPA rely heavily on results from existing monitoring stations operated by various industries, pursuant to air emission licenses for industrial facilities (JPS Spanish Town Road office, J Wray and Nephew Spanish Town Road, Petrojam and Garmex). Some of these stations, JET argued, are not at particularly high risk of impacts from a dump fire at Riverton for example Garmex and Petrojam.

JET added that four NEPA-operated routine monitoring stations appear to have been established sometime prior to the 2014 fire (Patrick Drive, Washington Gardens, Plantation Heights and Portmore) “All are additions to the stations it operates at its Cross Roads and Hope Road facilities. These existing monitoring stations produce datafor particulates and gaseous pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOC) and the oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, although not all parameters are measured at all sites”.

JET said that the report also suggests that the air pollution levels seem to be within standards or close to within standards for the 2012 and 2014 fires, in contradiction to model predictions and the effects felt by citizens in the vicinities of Riverton.

The reports make no attempt to explain these contradictions and so the results strain credulity for those areas most directly affected, JET contended.

JET questioned whether the monitoring stations are appropriately situated for example, are they at ground level? Are they at the appropriate distances from Riverton? Are they downwind or upwind of Riverton? At what time of day were samplings done and for what durations? Are they sampled at often enough to allow for reliable conclusions to be drawn? Were they selected based on model predictions and has the model been validated?

According to JET one of NEPA air quality monitoring station is on the roof of its three-story building at Caledonia Avenue and it consistently reports levels that are within standards.

JET further said that a March 22nd press release from the Ministry of Health (MOH) identified benzene (a volatile organic compound – VOC) as one of several hazardous substances generated by the fire. However JET argued that this release gave no actual concentrations and was not useful in assessing health risks. 

Additionally, JET is questioning the MOH’s quick assurance to the public that there will be no long-term effects from benzene exposure.

JET also noted that this quick assurance does not describe the significant short-term effects. Is the MOH implying that it is acceptable to make people ill for a short period of time? What about compounds other than benzene? JET questioned in its release.