The police are warning that there will be issues with traffic in the Loubiere area on Friday as authorities attempt to safely dispose of a dangerous chemical at the Kubuli factory in Snug Corner in Fond Baron.
The factory was severely affected by Hurricane Maria and there is presently a leak of the dangerous refrigerant, ammonia at the plant, although officials say the chemical itself has been contained.
An operation to dispose of the ammonia is expected to take place all of Friday. The chemical will be diluted and disposed incrementally into the river that runs through Loubiere
Police Inspector Anthony Lawrence said during the operation there is a need to safeguard the motoring public and there will be intermitent flow of traffic in the area from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm.
“At some point, we will have to stop the flow of traffic in the area,” he stated. “And the reason being at some point it will not be safe to have persons traversing that area. Not that there is a real problem in traveling but just to ensure that the process of disposing of the ammonia is done safely and correctly and there will be no hindrance and disturbance by persons traversing that area.”
He stated that when the operation is in progress, no one will be allowed to travel in the area.
“And therefore we will have to stop the traffic, the flow of traffic for some time,” Lawrence explained. “And when the process moves to a different stage, we will then allow traffic to flow. So that means we will have intermittent flow of traffic in both directions.”
He called on the motoring public to bear with the police during the operation.
“It is only a one-day process, it will be over,” he stated. “The experts are here, they have discussed with us what exactly they are going to do and we have endorsed what they are going to do and therefore we are asking you when we ask you to stop that you should stop. And not only the motoring public but anybody who is traversing that area, whether on foot or motor vehicle.”
The police also said people living close to the factory are expected to vacate the area and they should not use the river during the course of the operation.
An operation to dispose of the ammonia is expected to take place all of Friday. The chemical will be diluted and disposed incrementally into the river that runs through Loubiere!!!!
Ammonia is toxic to fish in the river and the ocean. I will strongly suggest that this operation to dilute and dump the ammonia into the river should be more than a one day operation. If we believe that the ammonia is truly contained as reported, than that disposal should be done every 3 days in order to protect the river and the people of Loubiere who use the river for washing and bathing.
This is a sin…….