Black boiler soot emissions to be addressed by maintenance department
Black soot emissions from the Fiji Sugar Corporation’s (FSC) Labasa Mill boiler will be managed and reduced for the betterment of the business and ratepayers community of Labasa. This was because of the health concerns raised by the Labasa Ratepayers Association president Paul Jaduram during the Minister for Sugar and Multi-Ethnic Affairs, Charan Jeath Singh’s visit to the mill. Mr Jaduram said boiler soot emissions contributed to air pollution faced by ratepayers and businesses at Labasa Town.
“Health wise, it contributed to the poor air quality near the mill and those businesses in close proximity are affected,” he said.
He said with additional business soon opening at close proximity to the mill such as the Damodar City complex at Naiyaca, this emission problem must be addressed.
FSC chief executive officer Bhan Pratap Singh said they had plans to reduce the black soot emissions. Mr Singh said they had allocated a budget for the maintenance of boiler equipment to reduce these emissions in the new crushing season. The amount allocated was about $2 million for the replacement of 200ton boiler dust collectors.
Qawa River waste disposal problems taken care of
The problems related to waste disposal and effluent from the FSC Labasa Mill into the Qawa River in Labasa has been managed well. Mill general manager Michael Faktaufon said this while responding to a question made by a concerned member of the public, Kamlesh Prasad.
Mr Faktaufon said they continued to monitor and reduce all forms of effluent released from the Labasa mill.