No swimming at Bahar ic-Caghaq until 2004

By Miriam Dunn

Few people will be surprised to hear that last year’s ban on swimming at Bahar ic-Caghaq will remain in place this summer and is unlikely to be lifted while the toxic Maghtab landfill continues to operate.

This means we can forget swimming at what used to be one of Malta’s favourite bathing spots until 2004 when the government has pledged to close Maghtab.

And most of us would probably have opted to bathe elsewhere anyway, after last summer’s revelations of chemical contamination in the water.

Last year, the authorities came under pressure to explain the swimming ban along the Bahar ic-Caghaq coastline after it was linked to the ever-growing Maghtab mountain directly opposite.

The department of public health had admitted that tests carried out in the area showed a slight evidence of chemical pollution.

Public health director Malcolm Micallef said yesterday that the department is not carrying out any more tests on the water in the area because it has been designated a no-swimming zone.

"The department performs microbiological analysis for bathing water only at those areas recognised as official bathing sites," he said. "In line with our policy, once an area is no longer considered an official bathing zone, this department does not carry out microbiological analysis."

But Malta Environment and Planning Authority spokesman Vince Gauci confirmed that the swimming ban would stay in place, explaining that the Bahar ic-Caghaq area continues to be monitored for toxic residues in water and sediments.

"Results obtained so far indicate that the present recommendation against bathing in the area should stay," he said.

Mr Gauci confirmed that the most evident source of pollution of the area is undoubtedly the Maghtab waste dump.

"It is unlikely that the recommendation against bathing in the area would be waived as long as this waste dump remains operational," he said.

Last year, some experts had urged the authorities to explain exactly what chemical pollution was traced and whether it was dioxins, or heavy metal presence.

The experts also said it was difficult to gauge the effects that contamination from dioxins could have, partly because they could take place over time.

But skin rashes and skin discolouring have been mentioned in the short-term, while one long-term effect cited is mild liver damage.

Environmentalists highlighted the fact that sediments taken from Maghtab and from the boreholes in the area were known to be contaminated.

They said that they have long called on the authorities to do some serious investigations and tackle the Maghtab problem properly.