DEAR EDITOR, the Solomon Star newspaper on Tuesday February 6, 2018 featured three articles giving warnings of alleged serious health risks to the public over consuming vegetables grown around the Ranadi dump site, eating fish caught in Honiara Harbour and crops being grown around the Gold Ridge tailings dam and along the Metapona River.
All three warnings emanated from a local scientist, Dickson Boboria, who seemingly alerted the media ahead of his doctoral research paper, which will be published this year.
Boboria reportedly conducted his research within the Honiara harbour from White River to Red Beach, around the Ranadi dump site area, as well as the Gold Ridge tailing dam and downstream in the Metapona River.
The serious nature of Boboria’s revelations in terms of public safety issues over alleged concentrations of cyanide and other dangerous toxic substances and metals dangerous to health need to be investigated by the appropriate health authorities and appropriate advice given to the general public.
The following passages are the quoted extracts from what was reported by the Solomon Star attributed to the findings of Boboria.
“Vegetables grown around the Ranadi dumpsite area are unsafe for human consumption.
“The Honiara public (needs) to be aware of vegetables and food stuff they get from the market.
“The dumpsite has produced heavy toxic metals which can cause health related diseases like cancer and other impairment to the body system.
“One can tell that lots of vegetables ground around the Burnscreek, Taiwanese Farm, as well as around the dumpsite were always sold at the market.
“Vegetables like slippery cabbage, lettuce, and Chinese cabbage grown in these areas which were sold at the market were highly contaminated with heavy toxic metals.”
“The Honiara City Council needs to carryout full assessment of farming activities around the site because after all people that will be affected.
“Heavy toxic metals were leaked out from the dumpsite during rain as well as during burning where ashes flies out 2-300 meters away from the dumpsite.
“The long term effect of consuming these poisoned foods is the reduction of nervous system, as other health related illness.
“The high concentration of cyanide around the tailings dam area and along the Metapona River still poses a risk for people, especially in their gardening activities.
“One thing people need to know about this poisonous chemical is that it used up by plants, which is dangerous for human consumption.
“The high concentration of cyanide around the tailings dam area and along the Metapona River still poses a risk for people, especially in their gardening activities.
“People need to know about this poisonous chemical is that it used up by plants, which is dangerous for human consumption.
“The Honiara harbour is heavily contaminated with toxic metals that exceeded the world standard.
“These include Cadmium, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Arsenic III, and Iron.
“These metals are a threat to both marine and human lives.
“They can cause cancer and other health related diseases or mental illness if people continue to use the salt water and its resources.
“Fish that were caught in this water are not safe anymore. They have been contaminated and not safe for human consumption.
“Even the fish in the market or coastal areas along the harbour are no longer safe as they use the same salt water to wash them.
“The main source of the these heavy metals are the sunken ships under the Iron Bottom Sound, the Ranadi dumpsite, the Ranadi Industrial zone, as well as hospital wastes.
Specifically in regard to Gold Ridge tailings dam and the Metapona River (quote)
“The likely high presence of Cyanide in sediments at the nearby areas of Gold Ridge tailing dam in Central Guadalcanal as well as along the Metapona River in Guadalcanal Plains is putting community’s livelihood at risk.
“Mr Boboria said that whilst he acknowledged the findings by a foreign researcher Dr. Simon Albert who carried out a research some years back along the Metapona river, whose findings concluded that there was no presence of cyanide in the river system, he said that they don’t realize that sediments along the river had been contaminated with high concentration of cyanide.
“To conclude that there’s no presence of cyanide in the river is true; because as soon as sunlight touches water and cyanide, it evaporates into ions.
“But they failed to realise or even test the sediments which are highly contaminated with cyanide.
“He said that the high concentration of cyanide around the tailings dam area and along the Metapona River still poses a risk for people, especially in their gardening activities.
“One thing people need to know about this poisonous chemical is that it used up by plants, which is dangerous for human consumption.
“One can tell of the presence of cyanide in root crops when you see tubers cracking or even rotting whilst still under ground.
“He said that the concentration of cyanide along the Metapona River reduces as it goes down stream to the sea.
“Concentration around the tailing dam area is very high compared to downstream Metapona River as the two rivers Tinahula and Savohula further weakens it.
“With his invented method to analyse the cyanide presence in sediments, he said that he was shocked to note the concentration in the soil where people continue to plant food.
“He recommended that the government needs to carryout full assessments on the sites as people’s livelihood are at stake.
“People must not do gardening around the tailings dam area as well as along the Metapona River.
“Mr. Boboria concluded that the only method needed to remove cyanide from the tailing dam is to do aeration to the whole dam, which means more oxygen needed to be pumped inside the dam to neutralize it.”
Yours sincerely
FRANK SHORT
