EARLY in the morning on my way to work, I usually look forward to the drive along the East Coast road because of its proximity to the sea wall before I get to the pollution of the city.

At that time, the fresh northeast trades blowing in from the sea are particularly refreshing, especially in the vicinity of that wide open stretch of land at Turkeyen.
On the morning of May 15th, at about 09:30 hrs, when I got to this particular stretch of road, I immediately knew that I was not going to have my lungs filled with the accustomed fresh air before I arrived in the city.
Thick clouds of smoke heralded me to the disaster I was approaching and the bright red glint of fire tenders confirmed my suspicions. Some inconsiderate, selfish, unthinking person had lit a fire in the empty land space opposite the sea wall and it was burning out of control.
The person who did this no doubt felt it was the quickest way to clear the land, but had not stopped once to think of the consequences of the action, or the magnitude of persons that would be affected by that insensitive behaviour.
I drove through smoke all the way to Lilliendaal and still did not dare wind down my windows until I passed Bel Air. This means every family in every village downwind of Turkeyen was affected by the smoke from this conflagration. Think of the countless children, old people, pregnant mothers, persons suffering from asthma and other respiratory illnesses living in these villages whose very lives were put at risk because of the thoughtless act of one insensitive human being.
Generally, I have hosted many television and radio programmes and written many letters to the press on the dangers of lighting fires in the city. The Guyanese public needs to know that it is against the law in Guyana to light a fire outdoors and there are reasons for this.
Apart from the dangers of the fire spreading and becoming uncontrollable, as with the one on the East Coast, and there was no question about it being out of control. (This was evidenced by the presence of fire tenders); fires lit indiscriminately tend to destroy the environment through smoke pollution and quite often the destruction of fragile ecosystems. In addition, the odour clings to curtains and furniture for days.
In spite of this, however, this habit has become endemic in our society and it is not unusual to wake up to your house filled with smoke, only to find that your neighbour has decided that that particular evening was a good one to burn garbage.
In this present climate where garbage collection is uncertain and sporadic, I can understand the need to get rid of refuse, but it has to be done in consideration of the people around. Most types of refuse material that is biodegradable could be used for compost or buried, and plastics, Styrofoam and synthetics have to be carted away to designated dump sites where they can be destroyed safely. Scientific studies on the effects of burning these materials in the open have proven that this is simply dangerous to our health and the health of the environment.
Plastics such as PVC (polyvinylchloride) is common in such things as bottles, jugs, plastic packaging and blister packs, etc. When these are burnt in the open, carbon monoxide, dioxins and furans are released into the air. Whilst carbon monoxide is a pretty well-known poison, dioxins and furans are not. Studies have linked dioxins and furans to cancer and respiratory disease as well as hormonal imbalance, asthma and heart disease.
As if this isn’t frightening enough, Carina Harkin, BHSc. Nat. BHSc. Hom. BHSc. Acu., a practitioner of 11 years, complementary medicine, lecturer for 4 years and mother of six in Galway, Ireland, cited research that proves toxic components inhaled through smoke from burning plastic materials may cause sex behavioural orientation of your newborn baby. As a result, the child could begin exhibiting behaviour in total contrast to his or her sex – changes from male to female sexual characteristics or vice versa. Researchers have established that inhaling burnt plastic materials have altered sexual characteristics of birds (from male to female). They have discovered the same defects can easily occur in human beings.
In other words, these materials should never be burnt in the open air. There are recycling options available for many of these products.
To the person who polluted the atmosphere (that) morning, and who would have caused unimaginable suffering and possible irreparable harm to many on the East Coast, I say ‘shame on you.’ Strangely enough, the land which was set ablaze is owned by a very prominent entrepreneur in the private sector. To the rest of the fire lighting Guyanese public I say, stop this dangerous practice.

ROSHAN KHAN