JA Riverton Dump sends 840 people to hospital

By Caribbean Medical News Staff
Toxic fumes continue to fill the atmosphere as authorities continue to battle smoke from the aftermath of the Riverton City dump’s raging inferno which is located on the outskirts of Kingston.
The massive fire warranted the closure of many schools while also affecting a number of businesses in parts of the capital. Scores of people were forced to seek medical attention as a result of the toxic fumes which emanated from a combination of hazardous materials in the dump.
The blaze destroyed most of the 120-acre dump that has seen repeated fires over the years. Health officials say that the smoke from the dump fire has caused over 840 people to seek medical treatment so far. There have been no deaths, said Dr. Marion Bullock-Ducasse, director of disaster management in the ministry of health.
The Minister if education Ronald Thwaites called for some 50 schools to remain closed Monday due to the pungent smoke billowing out the Riverton City dump. The few schools that remained open hurriedly closed their windows and doors. This was in an attempt to prevent the high winds from blowing the smoke into the classes and potentially affecting the students and staff; especially asthma sufferers. In addition, the education Minister said that the Cabinet decided it had to postpone the country’s high school entrance exams for one week “to ensure fairness to all candidates.”
Speaking at a news conference, Chief Fire Commissioner Errol Mowatt said that the “smoke cover is still very, very strong,” but that the fire has eased significantly. He noted that work fighting the massive dump fire “started slowly due to inadequacy of resources.”
The head of the government agency that manages the dump also complained about a lack of resources. Jennifer Edwards, head of the National Solid Waste Management Authority, refuted all claims that poor management was behind the unsettling dump fires.