MORANT BAY, St Thomas — Health officials have raised concerns about the clouds of dust being generated by work being done on the Lyssons main road in St Thomas. The project’s proximity to the Princess Margaret Hospital is particularly worrisome, they say.

“Some people may just look at it like it’s just dust on the road, dust on the furniture, dust in your eyes; but the dust triggers off many of the respiratory conditions. There are many persons with allergies, asthma, and cardiac conditions that the lack of clean air makes worse,” warned St Thomas medical officer of health, Dr D’Oyen Smith.

He was speaking during Thursday’s meeting of the St Thomas Municipal Corporation.

The meeting was told that, in a bid to address the issue, the public health team had initiated a meeting with contractors from China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). CHEC agreed to implement a daily system of wetting the road in order to minimise the dust nuisance.

Dr Smith appealed to stakeholders to be vigilant in ensuring that this is done.

“At the local board of health it is our responsibility to protect the people,” he reminded.

A concerned Councillor Rohan Bryan (People’s National Party, Morant Bay Division) said he has been trying to contact the contractors but his calls have gone unanswered.

“This is a health hazard and I am very concerned about persons, especially children with respiratory illnesses,” he said.

According to Chief Public Health Inspector Pauline Ellington, in addition to a promise to keep the road damp enough to minimise the dust, CHEC Engineering Manager Damian Anderson had also promised when they met that a section of the road will be paved within the next two to three weeks. Anderson supervises work on the section of the project that includes the roundabout to the Prospect community.

Ellington, who said she has seen improvements in the level of dust in the past week, said she is prepared to nudge Anderson when she observes that the road has not been dampened as promised.