Eulalee Thompson

The day I decided to drive with my car windows turned down, you know, just to enjoy the 'fresh' air in beautiful suburban St. Andrew, an old truck ahead of me in traffic, moves off, letting out some of the thickest, blackest smoke that you could ever imagine. Of course, most of this pollution landed right into my car. Definitely not pleasant.

Later that night, nursing runny eyes and sinus ailments, I thought, 'there ought to be a law against this'. Well, guess what? There actually is one.

I read in the Road Traffic Act (1938), section 43 (2), (and further had it confirmed by an attorney-at-law, since these laws are written for attorneys) that 'a person having control or charge of a motor vehicle' should not permit 'any unreasonable amount of smoke to escape' from said vehicle. Further, persons committing this offence, on conviction, can be made to pay a fine not exceeding $4,000.

NEPA does not respond

Do the police even care about ticketing motorists for allowing thick, black emissions from their vehicles' exhaust system? I can't say. Senior Superintendent (for road traffic) Elon Powell was in a meeting when I tried to find out (but at least he was willing to speak to me).

Then over to National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), where getting information is much more painful than a visit to the dentist. So, I have no idea if that agency is concerned about motor vehicle emissions; whether there are any standards and any linkages between that agency and other agencies such as the police and other road traffic authorities to control this source of air pollution and ill-health. It seems that I shall have to resort to the Access to Information Act, in order to get information which the public rightly should have access to.

Well, it seems that I will have to use 'historical' information for this article, since nothing current is forthcoming. The good thing about reporting on health and environmental issues for all these years, is that there's hardly a topic which I haven't written about. So, I waded through heaps of files and voila! There in a 1993 file, two articles written on Jamaica's poor air quality and the poison gas emissions coming from motor vehicles.

No regular monitoring

My August 23 1993 article (Air quality under probe) speaks to an increasing number of respiratory illnesses (pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, sinusitis, and emphysema) showing up at hospitals, forcing authorities to look more closely at air quality.

That article, sourcing information from the then director of the Environmental Control Division (ECD), Desmond Munroe, indicated that "there has been no regular monitoring of the country's air quality by the ECD since 1978 when the monitoring equipment fell into disrepair".

However, Mr. Munroe did say that the agency, at the time (August 1993) had received some equipment, though inadequate, and had begun the collection of baseline data and "will soon give daily information on the air quality in densely-populated areas such as Half-Way Tree, in the industrial area of Rockfort, in the tourist areas and near the refuse dumps".

Poisonous gas

Well, where is this 'daily information'? Does this country even test its air quality? I don't know, NEPA isn't saying anything but I believe, it's now their responsibility to test our air.

And, just in case you think that I am nit-picking and trying to get poorly-serviced motor vehicles off the road, the thick, black smoke, isn't just thick, black smoke, it is actually, the poisonous gas, carbon monoxide, and it is actually the single most widespread pollutant. (I understand, from 'historical' information, that there are other pollutants such as lead, suspended sulphates, nitrates, dirt, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and soot.) I see, from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's), website that symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning includes dizziness, fatigue, headache, nausea, irregular breathing. Overexposed victims may simply 'fall asleep' and never regain consciousness.

So, please, stop killing me softly.

Please send your feedback to eulalee.thompson@gleanerjm.com.