Polluted Ba and Qawa Rivers

[posted 20 April 2010,1515]

It is shocking that to date the authorities have not moved to stop FSC polluting our major rivers with the dumping of cane juice and other chemical pollutants from its mills.

Both the Ba River and the Qawa River in Labasa have been badly polluted by discharges from the sugar mills. Contaminated waterways have endangered fish and molluscs as well as the health of people consuming these products, while the foul stench emanating from the two rivers have made life intolerable for the residents of these towns.

Regular complaints on the matter have been lodged by the town councils as well as residents. The interim Prime Minister himself Ba and Labasa during the 2009 crushing season and should have noted the worsening situation.

The Fiji Labour Party carried out its own campaign on the need for health authorities to take action on the increasing pollution of the two rivers.

The 2009 season was particularly bad with almost 40% of cane juice dumped into the two rivers and waterways by FSC as a result of serious malfunctioning of the mills.

Both the Health and Environmental ministries have been extremely lax on this serious issue. Villagers in the area rely heavily on river resources such as fish and molluscs for their sustenance. Worse still, people’s lives and health are endangered by the consumption of these heavily contaminated species.

Another form of pollution unleashed into the environment by FSC, much to the anger of housewives, is the mill soot discharged from its chimneys. The soot blacken washing on the line, create cleaning problems in the house and cause serious respiratory problems.

The authorities are now saying they will take action and that they are “not taking the matter lightly” (FT 20/4/10). This is not acceptable. The rhetoric has to stop and positive measures taken to stop FSC dumping its waste in our rivers and polluting the environment.

FSC has a corporate responsibility to protect our environment and marine life, and should have been dealt with a long time back under the Environment Management laws. People’s health and livelihood is not something corporate entities should be allowed to treat carelessly!