…Residents want Government act swiftly
By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson I
“If this is not addressed with urgency, the vast majority of the sellers will come down with lung cancer and other medical complications that may cause an outbreak,” Environmentalist, Amelia Kardor.
Duala and Caldwell junction markets have been immersed with waste accumulated from across the markets and surrounding communities, giving rise to the possibility of a major health outbreak on Bushrod Island and other surrounding settlements.
WomenVoices Newspaper observed that the garbage within the Borough of Naw Kru Town, mainly Duala and Caldwell Markets are all overwhelmed and have been there since October 2023.
On Wednesday, December 27, 2023, WomenVoices- in communication with an environmentalist and the preparator of the National Institute of Professional Studies, a medical school on Bushrod Island, Madam Amelia Kardor, called on the government to act with urgency to remove the garbage of the markets, asserting that it has the propensity to cause a health emergency.
She stated that the huge garbage in the marketplace and burning it tends to increase the risk of heart disease and cause or aggravate respiratory ailments such as asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema. It has also caused serious diseases like lung cancer.
Therefore, she called on the government and partners to assist the marketers in getting rid of the huge garbage. “We may all react to the same thing differently, especially when it concerns our health.
When you inhale such toxic smoke, it tends to increase the risk of heart disease and cause or aggravate respiratory ailments such as asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema. And has also caused serious diseases like lung cancer.
There is also a possibility of a health outbreak that may further spread because you have people coming to Brewersville and Caldwell to the market. So, there is a need for the government and partners to come in now.”
The Borough of Naw Kru Town has a population of approximately 84,399 people. Because of its economic activities at the market center ( Duarla and Caldwell junction markets ), it is the convergence point for people dwelling in Caldwell, Logan Town, and Brewersville.
However, with the recent pollution of the market centers, the surrounding population all face the risk of experiencing a potential health outbreak.
It is established that open burning releases harmful chemicals and particulate matter that affect the health and the environment, depending on what is being burned.
Smoke from burning vegetation and organic materials contains toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, other greenhouse gases, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter that is small enough to enter the lungs and affect the respiratory system.
In continuation, marketers who communicated to this paper lamented that because there was no one collecting the garbage much more flies to their markets, that is why they had to set the garbage at blase.
“We put fire on the dirt because no one is coming to get it from here. It kepts bringing flies to our markets, that’s why we put fire.”
However, the marketers mentioned that though the dirt has been there over the last two months, the city government attempted to have it removed but stated that the burning dirt may cause a fire outback on the truck.
“Since it started burning, MCC says they can not carry it because fire is on it. They said that it would cause fire on the truck.”
Meanwhile, the marketers further called on the government and partners to come to their aid. They confirmed that they have already started to get negative impacts from the burning dirt.
“We want the government to help us move this dirt. because some of us have asthma, and this smoke is not good for us. The smoke can make our eyes red and we can just be coughing and itching out skin. We can stay home because we have to feed our families”
