The Tribune

BY DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Grand Bahama Port Authority is being accused of “doing nothing” to address industrial pollution concerns on Grand Bahama despite its establishment of an Environmental Unit 10 years ago.

The Pinder’s Point Lewis Yard Environmental Committee (PPLYEC), which is advocating for the relocation of the residents around the industrial plants, has called on the GBPA “to demonstrate that they are fulfilling the mission of the Environmental Unit.”

“The Port Authority had dropped the ball and failed in their duty of protecting the island and its residents from deadly pollutants spewed out by the industrial sector for more than 30 years,” Committee members Shuffel Hepburn and Berthram Pinder alleged.

The men said that the GBPA has an Environmental Unit, which was formed in 2006, but claimed that the unit has done nothing about alleged pollution.

The comments came during a talk show on Love 97 FM.

On Tuesday, the committee and residents staged a fourth protest, this time at the Grand Bahama Port Authority’s headquarters in Freeport. Protests were also previously held at the industrial plants on West Sunrise Highway and at the Harold DeGregory Government Complex in Freeport.

Mr Pinder, chairman of PPLYEC, and Mr Hepburn, a committee member, said that the GBPA and its leaders have a responsibility to protect the residents from environmental pollution by the industrial sector.

“We call on them and we are challenging them to abide by the tenets of their own environmental department,” Mr Hepburn said.

The mandate of the GBPA’s Environmental Unit is to effectively manage, conserve and protect the natural environment of the area governed by the GBPA.

Mr Hepburn, however, has concerns that this is not being done.

He said the GBPA must prove and demonstrate how they are protecting the natural environment.

Pointing out that one of the unit’s guiding principles is “to explain and publicise the policies and activities of the environmental group to the GBPA group of companies/subsidiaries and the public at large,” he challenged the GBPA to show residents of Grand Bahama, especially the residents around the industrial plants how they have “explained and publicised the activities of the Environmental Unit.”

Mr Pinder added that the committee had never heard from the GBPA’s Environmental Unit following a chemical explosion incident that allegedly occurred at Buckeye/BORCO several months ago.

The PPLYEC is agitating for the relocation of residents in the settlements of Hunters, Mack Town, especially Pinder’s Point, Lewis Yard, and Seaco Town, which borders the industrial plants.

Emissions from the industrial plants has forced the relocation of three nearby schools in 1989; and the relocation a year ago of the Lewis Yard Primary School to Hunters.

The group has rejected an independent study conducted by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) which found that there were no environmental and health risks to residents living near the industrial plants.

The committee believes that other surrounding communities, such as the Hawksbill Subdivision, Wellington Pinder Heights, the Regency Park Subdivision, and parts of South Bahamia are also impacted by the industrial pollution.

Mr Pinder has vowed that the committee will continue to press forward until their concerns are addressed by the government, industrial plants and the GBPA.

The committee is very encouraged by the support received from residents and motorists during their protests.

“Passing motorists have honked their horns in support of the protest and our efforts. Some have stopped and asked what the demonstration was all about, and when they were told, they gave the residents a thumbs-up sign,” said Mr Hepburn.

The committee also hosts a weekly radio talk show, “Protect the People”, which is broadcasted on Love 97 Radio.