Hasas landfill continues to pose threat as chemical pollution detected

Muscat: Oman Arabic newspaper previously published a report on chemical pollution at Hasas landfill in Samayil. The report was supported with experts’ opinions and testimonies of local residents.

However, the authorities have not taken any measures that suit such emergencies where a chemical pollution has been detected of the kind that does not only affect the soil but also the lives of people and animals.

In May, the Environment Authority wrote in its Twitter account that it had taken appropriate measures and issued environmental violations against the entity that caused the pollution but nothing has changed, Citizens submitted a letter to the Environment Authority demanding compensation for the livestock that died in the landfill but they did received no response for their complaint.

Engineer Salim bin Humaid al Shibli, Director-General of Municipalities in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate, confirmed that an agreement was reached with the Environment Authority to handle solid materials in the landfill and to build an earthen barrier around the entrances leading to it while avoiding exposure to hazardous waste which should be handled by a specialised company.

The central laboratory at the College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), affirmed that the presence of some oil compounds soluble in water may affect human health and animals as well as groundwater and disturb the environmental balance.

Many questions will emerge repeatedly regarding contingency plans for dealing with such dangerous cases the moment they occur and not when they turn into a public opinion issue because people’s lives matter more than anything else.