Residents of Lower Estate and its environs in St George reluctantly agreed to a six-month wait to have the Reduce Quarry operated by Anderson Cherry closed, but they got their wish more than four months early.
An abatement order issued Friday by the Ministry of Health sped up the process, and residents are elated.
Spokesman for the residents, Roger Craig, said: “Obviously, we are happy with the new development. We still know there is quite a lot of work to do, going forward, but we are pleased with the new development and we appreciate the assistance from the Ministry of Health and all the other Government departments that finally got involved. We’re glad for that.”
It was just a few weeks ago that he was lamenting the lack of response he and the other member of the committee had been getting to calls made to the ministry and the Environmental Protection Department to do air quality and other tests in the area in their quest for long-term relief from the “toxic” smell coming from the quarry, which they said has been causing them adverse effects for several months.
“My understanding is that they were working, apparently unknowing to us. Actually when the fire broke out yesterday [Friday], the people from Environmental Health were here by me and they actually saw the fire from be me, themselves,” Craig disclosed.
He said they were made aware of the abatement notice through the online newspapers, and up to yesterday afternoon they had not been contacted by the ministry with regard to any specific instructions.
The 15-member group, which was put in place to oversee the clearing and eventual closure of the Reduce Quarry, has not met officially since this latest development but Craig said they have been communicating via social media among themselves, and with some of the other affected residents since Friday night.
“We are hoping that going forward things will happen . . . . I guess that we will not be totally happy until we see the last truck full of whatever, is taken from the landfill,” he stated.
Mere weeks after giving Cherry six months to clean up and move out, residents made renewed complaints of a foul smell coming from the quarry, which prompted their spokesman Craig, to call him out for breach of promise.
A number of fires have sprung in areas of the quarry in recent weeks as well, which required a response from the Barbados Fire Service on more than one occasion. (YB)
