Hazardous Badulla smog still hugs town
Days after a blaze broke out in five acres of trash mounds in Badulla, the smoke billowing from the conflagration continues to be a health hazard with authorities shutting down eight schools and hospitals and government dispensaries witnessing a rise in the number of patients.
Garbage dumped here is often mixed waste, including paper, plastic containers, bottles, cans and at times electronic goods together with decomposable wastes from food, dead animals, construction debris and even industrial waste.
The thick smog from the garbage dump has spread across Badulla town.
At the Badulla Base Hospital alone about 30 people have been treated for smoke inhalation. A hospital official said because plastics and polythene had been incinerated in the fire, gases such as methane and other hydrocarbons are being released and that carcinogenic dioxins could also be released. He said that because Badulla lies in a basin it is taking a long time for the smoke to dissipate.
“If you have symptoms such as breathing difficulties, throat pain, eye irritation visit doctor immediately, do not treat yourselves at home,” the official said.
The Badulla Urban Council has urged residents to refrain from inhaling the smoke that is spewing out of the garbage dump. The garbage dump spread over five acres had dried up and caught fire.
The amount of garbage burned in remote villages and crowded megacities is rising as more people worldwide are consuming more goods. “Air pollution across much of the globe is significantly underestimated because no one is tracking open-fire burning of trash,” Senior Lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka, R.W. Sumathipala said.
The pollutants from trash fires are all toxic to humans depending on their concentration, he said.
The Uva Provincial Department of Education has ordered the temporary closure of eight schools – Badulla Dharmadutha College, Uva Maha Vidyalaya, Viharamaha devi Girls’ School, Badulla Central College, Visakha Girls School, Sujatha Girls School, Al Adam College and Al Isman Primary School in Badulla until next week.