PARAMARIBO--Authorities have promised residents in the Onoribo area some twelve kilometres south of Paramaribo, that by Saturday an obstinate garbage dump fire that has been plaguing them for over a week will have been quelled. “Things will return to normal by then,” Suriname Vice President Ashwin Adhin said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Onoribo has been smothered by a thick cloud of smoke for at least 10 days now, with the smoke and the stench of burning plastic and other debris drifting all the way to Paramaribo. As firefighters are proving unsuccessful in battling the dump fire, complaints are mounting. The situation has dominated news cycles and government and in discussions on social media the Fire Department is under fire for its inability to handle the situation. An announcement that the Health Ministry was handing out face masks to nearby residents was met with disdain. Schools in the area have been forced to close since late last week when the smoke became too thick; they will remain closed until at least Friday.
The National Center for Disaster Management NCCR appealed to people who collect rainwater to use it with caution. Water tanks should be closed off and refilled regularly, as the water could contain ash particles.
Reports are that at least two children required treatment by a doctor, after experiencing trouble with breathing. The National Bureau for Public Health BOG has reported an increase in the number of reports of people who had difficulty breathing and suffered eye and skin irritations. Official numbers of patients were not released.
There is concern that the fire is releasing toxic gasses that can be harmful if breathed. A report commissioned by the Ministry of Labour, Technology and Environment had hinted that the Onoribo dump could be a source of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
The National Institute for the Environment and Development NIMOS has stated that the fire is certainly causing air pollution. The extent of the pollution is not certain, as the institute does not have the necessary measuring instruments.
The dump was “created” 20 years ago by the then government of President Wijdenbosch and was intended to be temporary. Residents have been complaining about it ever since and it is not the first time garbage has caught aflame and covered the area in smoke.
At a meeting Sunday the residents appeared fed up and demanded that the dump be removed immediately. They also questioned why it had to be placed in their neighbourhood to begin with, as there are enough other places in Suriname where garbage could be dumped without it becoming a nuisance to people. They criticised authorities for not bringing the right equipment to battle the blaze.
While Vice President Adhin indicated that the dump would not be closed or moved, he promised that new regulation would be introduced to control the use of the dump. The vice president hinted that there is at least one investor interested in setting up a garbage-processing plant in Suriname, but he did not specify what stage those plans are in and where this plant would be located.
