The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently investigating dust and air pollution in Region Two and rice mills are under scrutiny.
This was disclosed at a public forum held in the boardroom of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on Tuesday by Head of Industry and Manufacturing, Odessa Duncan. Duncan informed that the agency had received several complaints of dust nuisance against two rice mills, namely, Vilvorden and Caricom Rice Mills.
Expounding on the issue was Acting Head of Agriculture, Junior Toney, who said that the agency immediately recommended the implementation of several mitigation measures to curb the dust nuisance. He added that the proposed measures were not implemented. Concerning the pollution (dust and air) of Vilvorden Rice Mill, Toney noted that several air-quality assessments were conducted at the mill which reflected good air quality in the area. Several follow-up checks were conducted to ascertain the level of compliance with mitigations measures that were recommended.
