Work still to be done at Greenland
Publication: Sun on Saturday
Paper Section And Page: 5
Paper Date: Sat, Aug 26, 2000
MAJOR construction work has to be done before the Greenland Landfill can receive any garbage.
The changes, recommended by the reviewers, R.J. Burnside International of Canada, are:
- Replacement of leaking liners in the leachate treatment ponds. (Leachate is a toxic liquid which oozes from garbage);
- The leaking liner in the main garbage cell has to be replaced in some areas and strengthened in other areas;
- The coral stone material covering the leachate collection pipes has to be replaced by granite to avoid the pipes clogging;
- A new set of leachate lines has to be installed to carry the liquid from the collection well to the treatment ponds instead of trucking it as was the previous plan;
- The storm water pond has to be relocated further downhill so the pond can also be used for landfilling of garbage;
- The drain around the landfill has to be redesigned to accommodate a "one in '00-year" storm event which would see about 20 inches or more of rainfall over a 24-hour period; and,
- The buildings close to the main cell have to be demolished.
"Once these activities are done and a hydrogeological survey is completed and the Greenland Landfill is suitable for use as a landfill, it is at that time that we will relocate from Mangrove to Greenland," Minister of Health Senator Phillip Goddard said.
He said Burnside also addressed concerns in the Press about fault lines and slope stability, but it was found that there was no movement in the last three years, despite a lot of rain. The fault lines were delineated on maps of the '940s and the area proved stable, Goddard added.
"Barbados has fault lines all over it. My house is built on a fault line which dates back to '760, and from '760 to 2000 it has not been affected," the minister said.
However, his cousin and chief objector, Richard Goddard, reacting immediately after yesterday's Press conference, said the stability in the future, not the past, was the issue and that since the landfill was constructed, Greenland had only seen 2.5 inches of rain at any one time.