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NEPA gives Kgn Harbour all-clear
Says PH level in water back to normal
BY PETRE WILLIAMS-RAYNOR, Environment editor williamsp@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
THE National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) yesterday gave the green light for the resumption of fishing and other activities at the Greenwich Village Fishing Beach, following Friday night's sulphuric acid spill at the Kingston Harbour.
Junior Shaw shows off fish he caught in the harbour yesterday. Not a single one, he said, was sold. had gone without earning (Photos: Lionel Rookwood)
"They (scientists at NEPA) have done surface and depth tests. After both tests, they have found that the PH level in the water is back to normal. The spill overall has been cleared up 90 per cent," communications officer at the environmental regulatory agency, George Davis, told the Observer.
"The soil in the vicinity where the leak occurred is still contaminated by sulphuric acid. However, it is not sufficiently contaminated to pose an environmental hazard at this time. Our investigations have found no reasons why activities that took place in the harbour before cannot resume," he added.
The spill is believed to have taken place between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm on Friday.
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management said yesterday that a faulty valve on the container storing the sulphuric acid on the property of Industrial Chemicals Company led to the spill, which flowed over on to the ICC's premises before making its way to a gully and later into the harbour.
Some 300 tonnes of the chemical escaped from the container, but it was unclear how much went into the harbour, the agency said yesterday.
Fish vendor Patricia Charlton and fishers Daniel Witter and Norman Tomlinson consume fish caught in the Kingston Harbour, which they say is safe to eat, despite Friday night's sulphuric acid spill.
The spill caused a fish kill and members of the response team who went to survey the more than three kilometres of affected harbour shoreline reported that it caused eye and skin irritation.
Neither the general manager nor the operations manager at the ICC could be reached for comment yesterday.
Meanwhile, fishers and vendors at Greenwich Village Fishing Beach were angry over the loss of income that media reports of the spill had caused them.
Vendor Charmaine Wright said she was unable to send her two children to school yesterday, having had to throw away more than 80 pounds of fish due to a lack of customers over the weekend.
"Mi haffi dump 50 pounds a fish yesterday (Sunday) because it get sour and the day before that, another 35 pounds. Nobody not buying," said the woman who has been selling at Greenwich Village for 38 years. "This morning, mi couldn't send mi children to school because mi nuh have no money. And mi nuh have no vehicle fi go a road go sell the fish dem."
"A barrow mi haffi borrow fi send my daughters to school this morning," said Barrington Kelly, another vendor. "A big Monday morning and wi alone de yah (without customers)."
Numerous others echoed their sentiments when the Observer visited the facility yesterday morning. Media reports of the spill, they claimed, had prevented people from visiting the fishing village, some saying that a large portion of the fish they sell is not from the harbour.
"Dem (the authorities) haffi come si wha a gwaan before them mek any news. Mi fish come from elsewhere," said one fisher, who said his catch was from Green Bay.
"Fish like these we don't get from the harbour. A 'way-out' people we get fish from," added Dennise Charlton, pointing to a container of fish sourced from outside the harbour.
However, fish vendors who got their catch from the harbour insisted there was nothing wrong with their stock.
"A madness dem (the authorities) a talk," said Junior Shaw, a fisher of more than 30 years, regarding NEPA's warning issued Saturday for people not to consume fish from the harbour or to swim in it.
"A pure rumour dem a spread. Now this morning mi catch fish and it can't sell," he added.
A young Daniel Witter sought to attest to this when he ate fish caught in the harbour early yesterday. He, like Wright's children, did not attend school on Monday because of a loss of earnings.
"Normally mi woulda go a sea go fishing, but through nuh vendor nuh come pon di beach, mi neva go and can't go school," said the 14-year-old student of Ascot High School, while eating a sprat.
Oswald Stackpole, recording secretary with the local fishermen's co-operative, said they need to be compensated for the days they had gone without earning. He suggested that the authorities, including the Fisheries Division, meet with them.
"We need them to come along and dialogue with us and from there we will deal with what is best."
But it remained unclear yesterday whether the environmental regulatory agency would be holding anyone responsible for the spill, under the Wildlife Protection Act.
"We are awaiting a report from the ICC, which is due in tomorrow (today). At that time, we will be able to assess the cause of the leakage and, of course, to review their recommendations and also to make recommendations as to how to mitigate any recurrence of the incident in the future," Davis told the Observer.
Says PH level in water back to normal
BY PETRE WILLIAMS-RAYNOR, Environment editor williamsp@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
THE National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA) yesterday gave the green light for the resumption of fishing and other activities at the Greenwich Village Fishing Beach, following Friday night's sulphuric acid spill at the Kingston Harbour.
Junior Shaw shows off fish he caught in the harbour yesterday. Not a single one, he said, was sold. had gone without earning (Photos: Lionel Rookwood)"They (scientists at NEPA) have done surface and depth tests. After both tests, they have found that the PH level in the water is back to normal. The spill overall has been cleared up 90 per cent," communications officer at the environmental regulatory agency, George Davis, told the Observer.
"The soil in the vicinity where the leak occurred is still contaminated by sulphuric acid. However, it is not sufficiently contaminated to pose an environmental hazard at this time. Our investigations have found no reasons why activities that took place in the harbour before cannot resume," he added.
The spill is believed to have taken place between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm on Friday.
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management said yesterday that a faulty valve on the container storing the sulphuric acid on the property of Industrial Chemicals Company led to the spill, which flowed over on to the ICC's premises before making its way to a gully and later into the harbour.
Some 300 tonnes of the chemical escaped from the container, but it was unclear how much went into the harbour, the agency said yesterday.
Fish vendor Patricia Charlton and fishers Daniel Witter and Norman Tomlinson consume fish caught in the Kingston Harbour, which they say is safe to eat, despite Friday night's sulphuric acid spill.The spill caused a fish kill and members of the response team who went to survey the more than three kilometres of affected harbour shoreline reported that it caused eye and skin irritation.
Neither the general manager nor the operations manager at the ICC could be reached for comment yesterday.
Meanwhile, fishers and vendors at Greenwich Village Fishing Beach were angry over the loss of income that media reports of the spill had caused them.
Vendor Charmaine Wright said she was unable to send her two children to school yesterday, having had to throw away more than 80 pounds of fish due to a lack of customers over the weekend.
"Mi haffi dump 50 pounds a fish yesterday (Sunday) because it get sour and the day before that, another 35 pounds. Nobody not buying," said the woman who has been selling at Greenwich Village for 38 years. "This morning, mi couldn't send mi children to school because mi nuh have no money. And mi nuh have no vehicle fi go a road go sell the fish dem."
"A barrow mi haffi borrow fi send my daughters to school this morning," said Barrington Kelly, another vendor. "A big Monday morning and wi alone de yah (without customers)."
Numerous others echoed their sentiments when the Observer visited the facility yesterday morning. Media reports of the spill, they claimed, had prevented people from visiting the fishing village, some saying that a large portion of the fish they sell is not from the harbour.
"Dem (the authorities) haffi come si wha a gwaan before them mek any news. Mi fish come from elsewhere," said one fisher, who said his catch was from Green Bay.
"Fish like these we don't get from the harbour. A 'way-out' people we get fish from," added Dennise Charlton, pointing to a container of fish sourced from outside the harbour.
However, fish vendors who got their catch from the harbour insisted there was nothing wrong with their stock.
"A madness dem (the authorities) a talk," said Junior Shaw, a fisher of more than 30 years, regarding NEPA's warning issued Saturday for people not to consume fish from the harbour or to swim in it.
"A pure rumour dem a spread. Now this morning mi catch fish and it can't sell," he added.
A young Daniel Witter sought to attest to this when he ate fish caught in the harbour early yesterday. He, like Wright's children, did not attend school on Monday because of a loss of earnings.
"Normally mi woulda go a sea go fishing, but through nuh vendor nuh come pon di beach, mi neva go and can't go school," said the 14-year-old student of Ascot High School, while eating a sprat.
Oswald Stackpole, recording secretary with the local fishermen's co-operative, said they need to be compensated for the days they had gone without earning. He suggested that the authorities, including the Fisheries Division, meet with them.
"We need them to come along and dialogue with us and from there we will deal with what is best."
But it remained unclear yesterday whether the environmental regulatory agency would be holding anyone responsible for the spill, under the Wildlife Protection Act.
"We are awaiting a report from the ICC, which is due in tomorrow (today). At that time, we will be able to assess the cause of the leakage and, of course, to review their recommendations and also to make recommendations as to how to mitigate any recurrence of the incident in the future," Davis told the Observer.
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