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    Smoke from dump fire blankets Jamaica capital

    KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Acrid smoke from a fire at a sprawling trash dump blanketed swaths of Jamaica's capital Thursday, and officials warned people to stay indoors to avoid exposure to potentially dangerous pollutants.

    Jamaica's emergency management office said it would likely take three more days to bring the fire under control and five days after that before the foul-smelling smoke stopped billowing from the Riverton City solid waste dump.

    Firefighters have struggled to extinguish the blaze at the seaside dump since it erupted Monday night. On Thursday, the waste management authority appealed for help to people with water trucks and heavy-duty equipment.

    Officials in the control tower at Norman Manley International Airport on the outskirts of Kingston said no flights had been delayed or rerouted, but air traffic controllers and pilots struggled in the hazy conditions.

    Shantytowns ring the open-air landfill, and government housing complexes and middle class neighborhoods have been built nearby. Smoke also hung over the southern city of Portmore, just west of Kingston and downwind from the dump.

    The Jamaica Environment Trust said the health of all Kingston residents was being threatened by the gray smoke wafting from the dump, calling the fire an "environmental, human rights and public health catastrophe."

    There has been virtually no control over what is unloaded at the site so fluorescent bulbs containing mercury, car batteries, tires and all manner of industrial, commercial and animal waste are burning there, the group said.

     

    15 comments

    • thatsdavid2u  •  Wichita, Kansas  •  3 mths ago
      Where is the Jamaican EPA when you need em'??
    • Rolpilos  •  Fairfield, California  •  3 mths ago
      There goes the tourist industry in Jamaica.....
      • JJ 3 mths ago
        Kingston is not a tourist spot, Swifty.
      • Rolpilos 3 mths ago
        Kingston used to be a regular tourist destination until recently.....I as there a couple of times in the 90s, but after a negative experience, I never want to go back.
    • Annmarie  •  Moreno Valley, California  •  3 mths ago
      this s--t should not be happening.
    • lmaz  •  3 mths ago
      Some one need to start a waste management company on the islands.
    • Ryder  •  San Diego, California  •  3 mths ago
      Fairly obvious most of the comentary here is from people who have neve been to Jamaica, while parts of Kingston are indeed poor slums, the majority of it is a modern, clean, dynamic city. Stay away from drugs and politics and Jamaica is a wonderful country.
      • Hooklineandsinker 3 mths ago
        Been there many times since 1992. Worked there for a while. It's a corrupt, violent toilet. Sorry...
      • Philadelphia 3 mths ago
        Coming from a tourist ur statement means #$%$ to me
      • royale 3 mths ago
        Been there several times on medical missions - there is NOTHING modern, clean or dynamic about Kingston. Not really sure what you're talking about Ryder.
    • Sally Smith  •  3 mths ago
      Remember when Cleveland OH lake started burning up? I love JA best place to vacation I know. Happy no people were hurt.
    • chris  •  3 mths ago
      Stupid black people if they wanted to burn trash they should have started with themselves.
      • A Yahoo! User 3 mths ago
        You need prayer
      • chris 3 mths ago
        save it your jesus isnt real.
    • Diver  •  New York, New York  •  3 mths ago
      Head into the Jungle. At least what you can burn up there will prevent glacouma.
    • dozer  •  Wallingford, Connecticut  •  3 mths ago
      those Jamaicans will smoke anything
    • My Name is Zero  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  3 mths ago
      Must be some bad weed they're burning..
    • Gary  •  Indianapolis, Indiana  •  3 mths ago
      Used to be the best weed.....oh hell im ole school....................
    • PerseusPrime  •  3 mths ago
      Kingston IS a big dump fire !
    • Ultrabrut1  •  3 mths ago
      Someone must have taken one big, hot, steamy dump in Jamacia!
    • Mellowdog  •  Birmingham, Alabama  •  3 mths ago
      There has been virtually no control over what is unloaded at the site so fluorescent bulbs containing mercury, car batteries, tires and all manner of industrial, commercial and animal waste are burning there, the group said.

      Jamaica is freaking nasty!
    • David u.s.a.  •  3 mths ago
      the acrid smoke smell is covering up the urine and feces smell
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