Residents of communities close to the Riverton City landfill in St. Andrew started the new year in smoke yesterday as the fire at the dump blazed on for the fifth day.

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) advised the residents that the situation would be eased within the next couple of days, but Derrick Smith, deputy leader of the Oppo-sition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), with responsibility for the corporate area, said this was unacceptable.

Respiratory problems

According to Mr. Smith, the residents have been suffering since Thursday night when the fire started and have been victims of all sorts of respiratory problems since then.

"Health authorities have often indicated the high levels of respiratory problems experienced by our children and our elderly and this level of pollution must be not only a constant source of irritation, but also a serious medical problem for them," Mr. Smith said in a statement released yesterday.

"It is not enough for the NSWMA to be relying on temporary measures to control the fires and ease the pollution whenever they occur without taking into consideration the damage that can be created in the meantime," he said.