Thursday, March 14, 2013
Tourism staff protest against distracting odour
Ministry of Tourism staff walked off the job yesterday.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Several workers at the Ministry of Tourism walked off the job yesterday in protest to a stench that has been permeating the building – on and off – for over a year.
Permanent secretary in the ministry, Milinette Ambrose, told OBSERVER media only one employee reported feeling unwell and was allowed to leave yesterday.
She admitted several others went home but no information regarding reasons was conveyed to her office.
“We had a meeting on Wednesday, when it was indicated, as before, that if workers are feeling uncomfortable or unwell working with the smell in the air, they should report to their department managers or myself before leaving,” Ambrose said.
However, the established protocol was not followed yesterday except in the case of one person, the permanent secretary indicated.
It is not clear whether any action would be taken against those workers who left work without informing the authorities.
However, Ambrose said the ministry is aware of the stench and workers would not be forced to work under such conditions.
Ambrose did not say how the workers’ action affected productivity at the ministry yesterday.
Earlier this week, workers at the Ministry of Education – housed in the same building as the tourism ministry – complained of the odour, which they said smelled like sewage.
They have been plagued by the stench for about two years and have walked off the job in the past – yet not much has been done to address the problem, one worker said yesterday.
Public Works technicians had reportedly examined the sewage system and air conditioning unit in the past to ascertain the source of the smell and how to eliminate it. The stench ceased, but only for a short time and nothing has been done since.
Apart from complaints from those two ministries, similar problems were reported by staff at the High Court and the Ministry of Legal Affairs.
The two government headquarters are housed in buildings in the same area and were constructed by the same engineer.
All the structures are sealed and depend on air conditioning around the clock.
Looking for odour solutions , now
How it works
The company is confident it will solve an odour problem plaguing. The company was creating a foul odour that had besieged the residents.
The residence were happy with the progress it had made to date the problem would abate much earlier than previously expected.
" we expect the odour to be fixed much sooner," he said.
"We are committed to fixing this problem - we don't want to talk about what it's costing us other than to say we're throwing everything we have at it."
.
"The fact that we're getting large amounts of gas each day from the anaerobic lagoons is proof the biological system is working,"
No odour at all was immediately detectable at the 8-metre deep covered lagoon site despite the water having only received minimal treatment.
In the process, solids are removed from the water before it reaches the covered lagoons and micro-organisms then digest the remaining pollutants and expel natural gas which is burned to create energy.
The sewage-like smell emanating from the site has blanketed their homes for months.
Then reducing the amount of foul smelling liquid remaining in the ponds, giving the company further confidence that the offending water would soon be diluted enough to have the smell vanish forever.
The smell was present but downwind it appeared not to be reaching the noxious levels described by some residents.
But the level of odour changes depending on the time of day.
No doubt it was impressive, and that cost appeared to be no object for the company as it battled to control the side effects.
The smell was as bad as ever, particularly at night, and residents remained worried about how long they would be expected to live with the problem and what other side effects may appear down the track.
He said once fully commissioned, the system would boost the company's environmental credentials and should lead to a more harmonious existence with surrounding communities.
Click Here
The company is confident it will solve an odour problem plaguing. The company was creating a foul odour that had besieged the residents.
The residence were happy with the progress it had made to date the problem would abate much earlier than previously expected.
" we expect the odour to be fixed much sooner," he said.
"We are committed to fixing this problem - we don't want to talk about what it's costing us other than to say we're throwing everything we have at it."
.
"The fact that we're getting large amounts of gas each day from the anaerobic lagoons is proof the biological system is working,"
No odour at all was immediately detectable at the 8-metre deep covered lagoon site despite the water having only received minimal treatment.
In the process, solids are removed from the water before it reaches the covered lagoons and micro-organisms then digest the remaining pollutants and expel natural gas which is burned to create energy.
The sewage-like smell emanating from the site has blanketed their homes for months.
Then reducing the amount of foul smelling liquid remaining in the ponds, giving the company further confidence that the offending water would soon be diluted enough to have the smell vanish forever.
The smell was present but downwind it appeared not to be reaching the noxious levels described by some residents.
But the level of odour changes depending on the time of day.
No doubt it was impressive, and that cost appeared to be no object for the company as it battled to control the side effects.
The smell was as bad as ever, particularly at night, and residents remained worried about how long they would be expected to live with the problem and what other side effects may appear down the track.
He said once fully commissioned, the system would boost the company's environmental credentials and should lead to a more harmonious existence with surrounding communities.
Click Here
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