RICE-milling operations in the De Hoop, Mahaicony area have become a source of much distress for residents, with them complaining about dust pollution.
According to a resident of De Hoop, Mahaicony in Region 5 (Mahaica-Berbice), “Everybody knows that rice milling creates dust; you don’t have to go to university to know that. Here, we have a rice mill to the windward side of us at Strangroen, Mahaicony. What is being done to ensure that this mill prevents dust particles from becoming airborne?
“Who is responsible for regulating the activities of this mill to prevent it from causing the kind of air pollution which makes life miserable for everybody on the downwind side of the mill?
“Who is supposed to ensure that rice mills operate without causing air pollution?” These are questions which she and irate residents of DeHoop, Mahaicony want answered. And they want action taken, because they are being daily plagued by emissions of dust from the rice mill to the windward side of the village. “This has been happening for two to three years now,” Ms. Natalie Persaud, a resident, said yesterday.
She produced a black-coloured dust which she had swept up from the floors of her home and put in a plastic bag early yesterday morning. “This is rice-husk ashes,” she said, adding: “I am literally sick of this situation. We can’t eat outdoors. Every day we have to clean layers of dust from clothing and furniture. Our pets are affected by dust; my son is affected by daily bouts of sneezing. A neighbour had to be rushed to hospital for asthma, and another, whose eyes were clogged by dust, had to receive medical attention. And there are homes where people can write their names in the dust on their cooking and eating utensils.
“On dry and windy days, the clouds of dust from the rice mill descend on the villages in DeHoop like a small sandstorm. You look to the north-east of the village; it looks like mist. There is dust everywhere.”
The visibly frustrated resident asked: “Has the EPA issued guidelines for the safe operations of this mill? If so, who is ensuring that these guidelines are being complied with? Who is protecting the quality of life of the people of DeHoop?”
The questions were asked during a visit to De Hoop by a Guyana Chronicle reporter yesterday. Who is to ensure that the defaulting miller is punished for ignoring the guidelines? The visit was triggered by a complaint about rice mill dust pollution raised at a recent Meet the People meeting held in the community by Minister of Communities Ronald Bulkan.
One resident complained bitterly about the dust pollution from the mill, and the minister promised to raise the matter with the EPA. The Guyana Chronicle was informed that his office has since sent a letter to the EPA concerning the plight of the residents, and asking that a mutually acceptable solution be arrived at. Another De Hoop resident, Ms. Maylene Singh said that she had been complaining to the EPA about the operations of the mill at Strangroen for the past three years. “No change! The whole thing is getting worse!” she said, adding: “Who is supposed to regulate the operations of this rice mill?” The Guyana Chronicle observed clouds of smoke from burning rice husk in the back yard of the mill around midday yesterday.
Ms. Persaud said that she and other residents have had enough. “We want help to resolve this situation… Badly!” she said. She disclosed that residents are calling on the relevant authorities to regulate the activities of this mill or close it down. Residents are now engaged in a signature campaign to drive home their dissatisfaction and disgust with pollution they have to live with every day.
