Government puts Hospicio on alert as Sonsoddo fumes refuse to die

MARGAO: The garbage dump at Sonsoddo burning ceaselessly for the last five days and the surroundings engulfed in smog have raised health concerns largely due to the exposure to potentially toxic fumes. South Goa district magistrate Ajit Roy on Friday issued directions to Hospicio, Margao, to be alert to the impending health threat.
“I have asked Hospicio to be ready to handle such cases if they come. Fire and smoke have been there for the last four to five days, so such cases cannot be ruled out. We have to be prepared for all eventualities, including health,” Roy told TOI after visiting the Sonsoddo disaster site.
Hospicio medical superintendent Ira Almeida told TOI that the hospital was prepared to deal with the situation. “We have our crisis management system in place. But we have received no new patients complaining of smoke-related problems, neither in paediatric or medical wards, nor in the OPD, since the last 4-5 days,” Almeida said.
She said short-term medical conditions arising out of smoke inhalation could include asthma, asphyxiation, COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) among others.
Director of Maharashtra state fire services and Mumbai fire brigade chief officer Prabhat Rehangdale visited the site and reviewed the fire fighting exercise.
Speaking to reporters at the site, Rehangdale said though it was a “controlled fire” and not spreading, the immediate concern was of environmental pollution and its effect on the community residing in the neighbourhood of the dump.
“Since it’s a years-old heap, the fire is deep-seated. Unless it is fully deprived of oxygen by smothering it, the fire won’t die and may recur,” Rehangdale said.
Commenting on the Renderzyme treatment and the other fire fighting methods that failed to yield the desired result so far, Rehangdale said that since it was a deep seated fire, it takes time for foam or any solution for deep penetration.
“There is no harm in experimenting with various permutations and combinations. Any solution sprayed on the dump will be effective only on the surface fire. So my recommendation is that we have to create access properly and try to smother the fire so that deep-seated fire gets killed, and then think of (other fire extinguishing agents),” he said.
Late Friday evening, fire fighters were seen dumping layers of debris on the dump.