The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made several interventions in order to address concerns about fumes emanating from a spray-painting shop at Affiance, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).
This publication had reported that residents are complaining about the fumes coming from the shop, which has been in existence for several years.
One resident, Devika Singh, who spoke with INews, said the issue of the fumes only arose last year and that the matter was reported to the EPA on multiple occasions.
EPA Executive Director Kemraj Parsram has since explained that investigations conducted by his Agency revealed that other residents in the area are not affected, but rather, it was only Singh’s household being affected.
From the investigations, the EPA Head said the operator of the spray-painting shop has been ordered to properly secure his premises to ensure fumes do not emanate into the surroundings.
“So, we investigated and we told the guy that he will have to do an enclosure, relocate his activity further at the back away from the residents, and of course, put in some measures like extractor fans,” the EPA Head said.
Singh had stated that the fumes emanating from the workshop were causing her family to experience difficulty breathing and that the smell was unbearable.
When INews had initially contacted the EPA for a comment, an officer had informed information on the incident was confidential. However, it was explained that when problems of this nature are brought to the EPA’s attention, an investigation would have to be conducted – inclusive of a site inspection – before any other actions are taken.
