The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided the necessary safety guidelines to the Ministry of Education for the removal of asbestos material at the University of Guyana, according to Executive Director of the agency, Doerga Persaud.
However, Persaud could not definitively say whether the guidelines are being followed as he needed to have a report from the department that is expected to make checks at the university.
But according to the ministry’s consultant, Noel James, all four contractors employed to remove the material have been given the EPA material and have been working accordingly.
There have been some concerns that there may be some safety hazard in the removal and disposal of the material but according to James there is nothing to fear. He said while they ensure that the material is properly packaged and taken to the Mandela dump site, the Mayor & City Council (M&CC) is responsible for the disposal.
Director of the council’s Solid Waste Management, Hubert Urlin, when contacted said that they have earmarked an area for the burial of the waste and there is no risk that the area would be dug up as it is marked. Urlin said that in excess of 25 trucks of asbestos material has since been taken to the site and all has been properly disposed of. He said in addition to the material being covered while being transported the bundles are individually wrapped in plastic and it is in that very state they are buried. He could not confirm whether those involved in the disposal are utilizing protective gear.
A New York based contractor, who had bid for the contract but did not succeed, yesterday said that there have been some concerns about the transporting of the material since apart from the material being sealed in plastic it should also be transported in a covered vehicle. He said this is to ensure that none of the dust from the material gets into the air as it could remain there for up to 60 hours.
But Urlin said there is nothing to worry about in the disposal of the material while James said the material is transported in a safe manner.
According to James, to ensure that the EPA guidelines are followed his division has two supervisors for every lot of the removal system and then there is an overall supervisor on site who supervises the others.
“We are doing as good as we can on the site, everything is being followed and the material leaves the university in a safe manner,” James told Stabroek News. He said there is good coordination among the four contractors, Linden Fyffe, Ivor Allen, Nabi & Sons and Andre Howard, and they all ensure that their workers are properly attired.
Asked why so many contractors, James said they considered the time factor as they want to ensure that the university will re-open its doors come September.
Chairman of the university’s Asbestos Committee, Melvin Sankies, earlier this week had expressed some concerns that the contractors may not finish the work in time since they had commenced their work late.
However, James said that he “wants to believe that we would meet the deadline” as the four contractors are working quickly to remove the material from the 15 buildings.
He said that unlike what some people are saying, all four contractors are highly qualified for the job and they are all involved in the removal, disposal and fumigation process.
Meanwhile, Sankies, who had complained that the ministry has been leaving his committee in the dark as it relates to the process, said that they had dispatched a letter to the Vice-Chancellor of the university expressing a number of concerns.
Among these are the involvement of the EPA and the Ministry of Health in the process and the re-wiring of the library and Faculty of Technology since this is something they had discussed at the last meeting they had with the ministry.
But according to James after the contractors removed the asbestos from the buildings they found that nothing was wrong with the wiring and it can be used for another few years.
And Sankies said they are finally expected to make a visit to the university sometime to inspect the work that is being done.
