local news

Bathers, barbecuers stand firm at Bahar ic-Caghaq
By Miriam Dunn

The authorities have no immediate plans to test the air at Bahar ic-Caghaq, even though they have made public their views that the air quality in the area poses much greater risks than pollution from the sea.

Since the public health department’s decision to issue a notice advising against swimming at Bahar ic-Caghaq following the tracing of chemical dioxins in the water, there has been renewed pressure on the authorities to tackle the problem of the Maghtab landfill, which is a stone’s throw away from the bathing area.

But experts told MaltaToday that although investigations were definitely needed as to what dioxins were seeping into the sea from the dump, emissions in the air posed far more hazardous risks.

Yet it seems the authorities will not be changing their current policies on air monitoring for now, according to the director of the Environment Protection Department, Vincent Gauci.

"We haven’t been monitoring the air in the Maghtab region, because it is obvious that the area around the landfill is contaminated," he said. "Instead, we have been concentrating our efforts on residential areas, taking our van and equipment into busy squares in towns and villages."

Although the authorities seem to be presuming that the public is aware of the risks that the Maghtab landfill could pose, there was little evidence over the weekend that beach-goers were taking any notice of the warnings.

Bathers have been photographed swimming regularly since the ban was introduced, while no statement about the air quality problems has been made publicly by the authorities.

In fact, the Bahar ic-Caghaq locality is very popular with many barbecuers, picnickers and people with caravans, who often root themselves there for the whole summer.

Mr Gauci told MaltaToday that the department’s research so far has revealed air quality problems in residential areas relating to fine dust and traffic emissions. He said that he would expect air tests at Maghtab to produce different results, taking into account the fact that the landfill is characterised by composing waste and spontaneous fires that cause emissions.

Depending on the direction of the wind, people as far away as Naxxar and St Paul’s Bay complain that they often have to close their windows at night because of the stench, while motorists driving along the Coast Road sometimes find themselves enveloped in a smoky haze.

Asked whether the public frequenting the area should be better informed, and whether it was finally time to tackle the Maghtab issue properly, Mr Gauci answered: "Of course we can never do enough in this respect. We all know the Maghtab landfill has to be closed, but this cannot be done until we find a satisfactory,alternative solution."