Eulalee Thompson
Since the publication of last week's article, 'Killing me softly with thick, black smoke', Senior Superintendent Ealan Powell, head of Police Traffic Division, indicates that the police have been issuing tickets to motorists who allow an 'unreasonable amount' of smoke to escape from their motor vehicles' exhaust systems.
Driving around Kingston daily and seeing the number of motor vehicles spewing out toxic fumes, it is certainly difficult to believe that these drivers are in fear of any possible penalty from the police.
Anyway, many readers identified with last week's article. Interestingly, most of the readers who responded to the article were either living overseas or were Jamaicans who recently returned home to re-establish ties. (Perhaps, most of us who live here have become accustomed to excessive vehicular emissions and poor air quality.)
Suffering the ill-effects
These readers, like myself, are suffering the ill-effects of this ubiquitous thick, black smoke - the poisonous carbon monoxide emissions from the exhaust system of poorly-serviced motor vehicles - and they, like myself, have met with the same level of nonchalance from agencies empowered and funded by the tax-paying citizens of this country to monitor air quality and, in so doing, protect our health. Agencies such as the National Environment and Planning Agency, Ministry of Health, the police and the road traffic authorities, (they issue fitness certificates) should collaborate on these issues.
For example, reader Trevor C. Rhone writes:
"I live in an area through which, as early as 4:00 a.m., a procession of diesel trucks laden with marl, cement, sand, building blocks etc., bark their way with scant regard for the dwellers.The noise apart, these juggernauts leave in their wake acrid choking exhaust fumes laden with particulates, and an endless stream of dust.
Since my return to Jamaica, I have written to or called the various bodies whose purpose one is given to understand, is to protect the environment, exhorting them to do something about it. The responses from those who have deigned to reply have been uniformly pathetic, all seemingly resigned to leave well alone."
And reader Lois Murray writes:
"I commute daily from St. Thomas and I love the views but every few miles I have to close my windows and put on the air conditioner so as not to swallow a mouthful of toxic fumes. Thank the Lord for good (body) cleansers."
(See full text in the Health-Letters article).
Air quality regulations
There is a voluminous document, 'The Natural Resources Conservation Authority (Air Quality) Regulations, 2002, which readers who requested more information on air quality can consult. (A copy of the document is available at www.nepa.gov.jm, enter the words 'air quality' in the search engine.) I have been going through this bulky document but it doesn't appear to mention anything about vehicular emissions. It addresses the monitoring of industrial sources of pollution and appears to be more concerned with the licensing process of these industrial sources, compliance and the paying of licence fees.
The document states in part that "the regulations are set to achieve and maintain levels of air quality that will protect human health and safety, minimise injury to plant and animal, minimise damage to property and unreasonable interference with the public welfare, preserve and where necessary improve visibility, protect the scenic, aesthetic and historic values of Jamaica and promote the prevention, abatement and control of pollution by practical and economically feasible methods". Well, I will just leave that hanging. You can be the judge.
As mentioned in last week's article, carbon monoxide, the thick, black smoke spewed out by poorly-serviced motor vehicles (and other sources) is a poisonous gas and actually the single most widespread pollutant. From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency we learn that persons overexposed to carbon monoxide may simply 'fall asleep' and never regain consciousness.
Please send your
feedback to eulalee.thompson @gleanerjm.com.
