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The National Environment and Planning Agency
(NEPA) is reporting that there is a fire at the Riverton City Solid
Waste Dump, which is creating an environmental and public health
problem in a wide area of the city. The fire began in the early
hours of Monday night (February 7).
NEPA is in dialogue with the National Solid
Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) which reports that it has
mobilized the necessary resources to respond to the fire. The
Jamaica Fire Brigade, Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), Office of
Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and private
contractors are engaged at different levels to control the fire. The
NSWMA anticipates that the fire should be brought under control
sometime today.
In the meantime, NEPA has briefed the Hon.
Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Water, Land, Environment & Climate
Change on the matter. The Minister is in contact with his
colleague, Hon. Noel Arscott, Minister of Local Government &
Community Development, regarding expediting the response mechanism
to control and extinguish the fire.
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