News Releases

Researchers examine impact of Guanapo Landfill contaminants

For Release Upon Receipt - April 24, 2013

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago – “The impact of the contaminants produced by the Guanapo Landfill on the surrounding environment” was spearheaded by a group of researchers in the Department of Chemistry of The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine. 

Funded by The UWI-Trinidad and Tobago Research and Development Impact (RDI) Fund, the goal of this project is to “to assess the extent of contamination from the Guanapo Landfill to the air, water and soil, as well as identify the potential impacts of this contamination to ecological and human receptors.” The project falls directly in line with the solid waste management policy of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as with existing efforts by the Water Resources Agency and the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to improve water quality in the Guanapo watershed. The results of this study will be used to guide recommendations to address the environmental and public health issues in the Heights of Guanapo district.

On March 14, members of the Guanapo Community and Environmental Development Organisation (G-CEDO) chaired a town hall-style meeting led by the team of researchers from The UWI, representatives from the Caribbean Institute of Metrology and Hydrology, the Solid Waste Management Company Limited (SWMCOL), and the Water Resources Agency. The Honourable Rodger Samuel, Minister of Parliament for Arima, was also in attendance.

A Q&A session facilitated by members of the research team followed, where concerns included queries about water pollutant levels, problems from both the landfill and quarries in the area, information on shutting down a landfill, and where and how the information from the study would be used. In addition, Mr. Samuel made a number of remarks, indicating his desire to close the landfill entirely. He ended with a request that the research team be committed to full disclosure of any findings, of which he was assured as this is a requirement of the RDI Fund itself.

 

End

 

Notes to the Editor:

The Research and Development Impact (RDI) Fund is funded by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and administered by the University of the West Indies.  The RDI Fund’s purpose is to support multi-disciplinary projects that address serious social, environmental and economic problems in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the wider Caribbean region. 

 

For more details, visit the RDI Fund website at http://sta.uwi.edu/rdifund/.

For the latest UWI News, click http://sta.uwi.edu/news

About UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with 45 physical site locations across the region, serving 16 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science & Technology, Food & Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

 

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