PLP Senator Edison Key today called on Minister of Health Dr. Marcus Bethel to investigate what he called a serious health crisis in Abaco involving heavily chlorinated water being supplied to residents, which, according to Mr. Key, was responsible for the deaths of more than 20 people in recent years.
Mr. Key said there has been an alarming number of cancer-related deaths in Abaco in recent years among people in 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s with a number of children being left with only one parent, having lost the other to cancer.
The PLP Senator also asked that billions of gallons of fresh water be made accessible to residents of Hope Town.
He was speaking in the Senate on a proposed amendment to the Family Island Development Encouragement Act, which provides for an extension on duty free exemptions in the Southern Bahamas .
Mr. Key said the problem is so severe that most people who can afford a filter system are filtering their drinking water through expensive filter systems in an effort to reduce the excessive quantity of chlorine, which is being piped through their homes from the local supply.
“I have personally made complaints to the Water & Sewerage executives in Marsh Harbour and here in Nassau , about the high levels of chlorine that is added to the water supply in Abaco, but there has been no noticeable decrease,” he said.
“The scent of chlorine that comes from the tap when the water is turned on is enough to cut your breath. Imagine having to take showers, brush your teeth, wash your hair, clothes and dishes and drink this poison every single day.”
Mr. Key said chlorine rates among the worst and highest cancer-causing chemicals. He said that three persons in Abaco were diagnosed with cancer in the past three weeks and suggested that there may be a link between these incidents and “poison” water.
“There are many families who cannot afford the expensive filter systems or the $1.50 that it costs for the one gallon of water in the supermarket,” he said.
“And why should they have to, when Abaco has an abundance of water, with a fresh water lens of up to 80 feet deep and billions of gallons of good wholesome, fresh water lying just below the surface?”
Mr. Key also suggested that the Local Government Act in its present form be abolished because it was “drafted in haste to fulfil an election promise by the former FNM government.” He said that it has since been used as a political football in certain areas of the Bahamas .”
Mr. Key said the Act’s abolition would discourage political patronage and nepotism.
He added that although he supports amendments to the Family Island Development Encouragement Act, he feels that more thought and consideration could have been given for an additional five years, thereby giving relief through December 31, 2007.
“It is about time that a Family Island Development Plan is instituted which would effectively, once and for all, constitute the blueprint for the way in which we move forward.”
The Bahama Journal
