Too often we are led to wonder if people in authority hold the belief that the citizens of this country are beneath them; less deserving of health, happiness, and, most important, life.

Probably it is that some of those individuals in authority are disciples of the pig Napoleon in George Orwell’s allegorical novel Animal Farm, who, after conspiring with his fellow animals to take control of their owner’s farm, changes the final rule in their ‘Animalist’ commandments from ‘All animals are equal’ to ‘All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others’.

That can be the only explanation for the shambolic management of the Retirement dump in Montego Bay, which is again in the news because of smoke emission.

A report on page three of this newspaper today tells us that Western Parks and Markets Waste Management Limited (WPM) is being hauled over the coals for “poor management” by Councillor Michael Troupe.

Mr Troupe’s complaint has only corroborated what we have seen for ourselves — smoke rising from the dump and moving across communities. Although this life-threatening problem has been affecting people intermittently for years, Councillor Troupe tells us that the latest episode has existed since last week Thursday and the excuse being given for this scant regard for people’s health is a lack of proper equipment.

In response, Mr Dramaine Jones, the WPM’s acting regional operations manager, while admitting that smoke has re-emerged on the edge of one of the cells at the dump, states that “the contractor” has brought in equipment “to assist in the interim to suppress the smoke”.

According to Mr Jones, “The disposal site is a harsh environment and equipment will be prone to breakdowns.”

So, basically, what Mr Jones is telling us is that his company has no solid system in place to ensure that the dump does not emit smoke — that most likely is carinogenic — into the atmosphere, thus posing a serious health risk to human beings.

Disposal sites are prime ground for hazardous substances including cancer-causing benzene. Smoke from dumps will also contain particulate matter that has been known to cause mild to severe effects on the respiratory tract, including lung irritation.

Even if the smoke being emitted from the dump now is not as thick as in times past when it blanketed the city, the fact is that it is transporting and distributing poison in the air.

How reckless, therefore, can the people who manage this facility be and, are they waiting for people to die before they solve this recurring problem?

Where in all of this are the minister of local government, the Members of Parliament who should be representing the people in the affected communities and, indeed, the municipal authority?

Councillor Troupe, who tells us that he has “serious respiratory and sinus issues”, has a valid reason to do more than complain. He needs to raise hell at the local government level and ensure that his voice is heard at the higher level.

He should do so not only for himself, but for the woman who he says lives in Pitfour and who “either has to relocate whenever the dump is on fire or lock up inside her house”.

The last data we saw on air pollution fatalities in Jamaica stated that in 2017, the number of deaths due to air pollution exposure was estimated at 1,230, up from 1,040 in 2010.

This issue needs national attention and an effective solution because the problem exists in other parishes.