Health of residents of Bagotville, Independence St at risk from smoke

Dear Editor,

The communities of inner Bagotville and Independence Street appear to be unaware of the dangers posed to their lungs and other organs of their bodies by the inhalation of smoke.

Over the past two months residents have been burning incessantly grass, garbage and other disposables on a daily basis and as if that is not enough, the grass in various parts of the Parfait Harmonie community self-ignites causing the Fire Service to be always on the alert to respond to calls to out the fires.

This letter is a plea for the Environmental Protection Agency to help the community to find other methods of disposing of their forage without posing a health risk to the residents of the community.

Additional guidance is needed in the circumstance where residents rear various forms of livestock in close proximity to homes and are unperturbed about the offensive and putrid odours that emanate from the pens and yards especially during the rainy season. Help would be appreciated in this instance also.

Finally, are there Environmental Health Officers serving the health needs of these communities?

Yours faithfully,

Hubert C. Roberts