The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

A RECENT fire near Mario’s Bowling Alley and Entertainment Centre on Harrold Road has led some residents to question the disposal process for chemicals in this country.

The Tribune was told that thick, black smoke emanating from a property near the New Providence landfill on April 27 was a result of burning paint tins, scattered throughout a plot of shrubbery behind the facility.

A source explained that inquires made at the Cable Beach Police Station proved fruitless, as officers insisted that a unit would “look in to the matter” once one became available. The Tribune understands that no report of the blaze was ever filed.

A short time later the source returned to the scene of the blaze, encountering two men believed to be employees of a nearby business or labourers at the landfill.

“They told me they had the fire under control,” the source said. “It was almost as if they didn’t want me to go near it or around it. But, at this time the smoke and smell were getting worse. They told me to relax and leave it alone.”

The source told The Tribune that they returned a short while later to discover that the fire had burned out.

“Once it was done, then I realised the extent of what I was dealing with. It was just old paint and paint supplies. It seemed as if someone who could dump their tins of old paint dumped it at this site and lit it on fire.”

According to chemical studies, many paint products include chemical components, which should never be burned, such as Teflon and dioxins, which produce very hazardous gases if set on fire.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) describes dioxins as environmental pollutants that have the potential to enter the body and last a long time because of their chemical stability and their ability to be absorbed by fat tissue, where they are then stored in the body.

The Tribune contacted management of Renew Bahamas, the company responsible for the day-to-day management of the city landfill, to determine how paint waste products are treated and disposed.

Chief Commercial Officer Michael Cox indicated that Renew does accept and disposes of paint waste supplies.

However, Mr Cox added that Renew has been speaking to the Chamber of Commerce over the last three months about trying to encourage a take back scheme with the paint suppliers/sellers to increase the amount of tins collected to dispose of them adequately in a cost-effective way.

Mr Cox explained that the supplies would be incinerated in a controlled manner.

The fire in question was responsible for the immediate closure of the nearby Meridian School. The school has been plagued by smoke emanating from the New Providence landfill as a result of recurring fires at the dumpsite.

It is unclear who is responsible for the fire in question.