Natural Resources and Environment Minister Robert Persaud is assuring that there are plans for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set up an air quality monitoring protocol in Linden that will utilise officers from the agency.
He made this disclosure in the National Assembly on Monday, in response to a question by APNU MP Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, who questioned whether there was air quality monitoring being done at Linden and whether results were available. Roopnaraine also asked whether the EPA planned to have Bosai deploy an air quality network in Linden and about officials at the EPA qualified to provide regulatory oversight of air quality.
According to Persaud, the main objective of the monitoring protocol is to observe the concentration of emissions which occur before and after the installation of the dust collection systems by the Bosai Minerals Group operation in Linen.
This will enable the officers to verify that the dust collector systems installed by the company to mitigate dust pollution are functioning effectively and to also accrue air quality monitoring data for Linden.
He said that an air quality monitoring system would require the EPA to erect monitoring stations at strategic locations to acquire data in a timely and cost effective manner.
Efforts have commenced to acquire the appropriate equipment in order to execute an air quality monitoring protocol at a local scale for Linden, he added, while saying that this would be prepared shortly.
Currently, Persaud noted, Bosai monitors the situation twice each year. Monitoring was done in January this year and the second period of monitoring commenced in June and is still ongoing.
Persaud also informed that a total of US$3.2M is budgeted this year to strengthen the institutional capacities of several government agencies, including the EPA. He said that the EPA will benefit through the establishment of a clear and structured framework for the achievement of effective implementation of environmental safeguards, including monitoring activities for air quality, among other things.
Persaud disclosed that members of the Air Quality Unit of the EPA are all university graduates with degrees in the field of chemistry and environmental science.
However, he said there is no officer at the EPA with specialised qualifications in air quality management and he noted that such expertise would have to be sourced from an external agency, since the University of Guyana does not provide schooling in that area. He added that specialised overseas training for local officers is being examined.
Last month, Bosai put its dust collection system for Kiln #14 into full operation—the first for a bauxite company in Linden after years of complaints by residents of the town about emissions.
The system on Kiln #14 was completed on June 30, 2012 by the Chinese company and was put into full operation on July 13 after several years of delays.
Work on the collection system for Kiln #13 is currently still underway and the EPA has been part of the process. Work on kiln #13 is about 60% complete and is expected to be operational by September, the EPA said last month, while noting that the dust collection system has already been procured and delivered and foundation works have been completed and installation is ongoing. It said once the installation is completed and the system is operational, the EPA “will continue to monitor the operation, and provide further guidance and support to ultimately ensure that Linden is free of dust pollution.”
