There has never been any benchmarks, standards or consistent monitoring systems in place to screen for heavy metals in T&T in order to assess the impact on the environment or human life.
In an interview on Friday, Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis acknowledged that there were no regulations in place for the monitoring of organic pollutants in agriculture, water courses, dumps and other sources in T&T.
This issue is now being worked on, however, by the Ministry of Planning and the Environment, which recently partnered with the United Nations to establish a consistent organic pollutant monitoring system.
Robinson-Regis said the overall budget available to T&T to participate in the regional Persistent Organic Pollutants Project was U$1,260,000. Earlier this month, the country was thrown into a panic after the Solid Waste Management Company Limited, in a Joint Select Committee meeting at Parliament, said heavy lead from the Guanapo dump was a danger to human life.
Robinson-Regis said the issue was currently engaging the Government’s attention. “What we have done in lieu of legislation is we are working with the UN on establishing a persistent organic pollutant monitoring system. It is something we have already started and we have a project in place.” She said there was still a need to get a project manager and a team to conduct monitoring on a regular basis.
The project is being partially funded by the UN’s general environment fund, with funding coming from other UN groups and the T&T Government providing manpower.
The project is being supervised by an inter-ministerial team with consultation from the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and Cariri. The Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) will also be a part of the project.
“It is a priority, mainly because of the improper disposal of organic pollutants. Sometimes we have issues with disposal of medical waste. We have not found major problems. But we do not want to get to a situation where a problem occurs and we are coming from behind.”
Everything is not okay—Aboud
Environmental activist Gary Aboud, head of the Fishermen and Friends of the Sea organisation feels T&T is already coming from behind.
According to Aboud, the number of animals washing ashore in south Trinidad was proof that pollutants are contaminating the waters and could have possible adverse effects on humans.
“It is the Government that have not responded to this danger. Pelicans and flipper dolphins are washing ashore dead.
What are they eating?” Aboud said the Government had an obligation to protect its people and the regional market who import from T&T. He said the problem of dead fishes and other animals washing ashore had become much worse.
“We believe that all the beaches in the South where the oil washed ashore and corexit was used are all affected.” He said the bottom feeding fish in Carenage and Cocorite had ten times less contaminants than fish in the lagoon in La Brea.
“We have asked the Government to close this area. Instead, the Government has done studies to show everything is okay but everything is not okay.”
‘It can have adverse effects on health’
Dr Azad Mohammed, a toxicologist and lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, said heavy metals were always present in the environment, but added that there was a definite need for more research and monitoring.
He said heavy metals got in the environment from a number of sources. In Trinidad, the petrochemical industry is a major source: then you have simple things like atmospheric deposition; then manufacturing industries; dump sites; agriculture; transportation sector, all of which contribute heavy metals to the environment.
Dr Mohammed said it was an area of concern because of the potential impacts to people when metal levels get too high or accumulate in organisms.
“They can have toxic effects. Lead for example is a potent neurotoxin, meaning it can affect your neurosystem, your ability to function. People exposed to these metals have physiological conditions and don’t know.”
He said when these metals start getting into water courses from various sources, they accumulate in organisms and you see behavioural changes—in the ability to reproduce, nervous responses if the levels are high.
Some symptoms can be unnoticeable in a health context like the aggression associated with high levels of lead.
Some effects can lead to death.
“...We don’t do routine testing or screening of the public for heavy metals or anything else.
We don’t screen fish, vegetables, the food that we eat, nothing. There are no standards in T&T.”
He said this made it more difficult for researchers as no benchmarks meant one could measure and not know what one was measuring against. “People have adopted standards from international agencies but there are no national standards.” T&T citizens have not been immune from the effects of exposure to heavy metals.
Dr Mohammed said in 2011, there were two clinical cases of people in Mt Hope who exhibited strange behaviours and were subsequently found to have had elevated levels of mercury and were showing neurological disorders.
“It can affect production of essential proteins, damage organs, damage tissue, so there is a hierarchy of responses.”
If the levels are low human bodies have a built-in defense, but if accumulated levels are too high problems begin to occur.
TOXIC HEAVY METALS AND THEIR EFFECTS
Examples of toxic heavy metals include lead, mercury, arsenic, chromium and copper, all found in the environment in T&T.
These particles are generated by burning materials for example; during smelting; recycling; stripping leaded paint; and using leaded gasoline or leaded aviation fuel; and ingestion of lead-contaminated dust, water (from leaded pipes); and food (from lead-glazed or lead-soldered containers).
Symptoms of toxic heavy metal contamination can include behaviour problems, growth delays, and death.