(FP)

The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is carrying out a derelict building and vehicle programme in its continued effort to protect the health of the general public, and to beautify the island.

The Ministry of Environment and National Beautification, under which the EPD falls, undertakes the identification, removal and disposal of derelict buildings and vehicles, as outlined in Section 11 of the Health Services Act CAP 44. It allows the department to demolish derelict buildings and remove derelict vehicles.

EPD’s Acting Senior Environmental Protection Officer, Tonya Armstrong, said that the department defines a derelict building as “an abandoned, dilapidated, uninhabitable, structurally unsound and unoccupied building that may provide a home for disease causing vectors, which may adversely impact on environmental quality, human health, public safety and cause discomfort to the general public”.

A derelict vehicle is defined as “an abandoned automobile, truck or other vehicular part which provide harbourage for rodents and other vermin”.

According to her, the demolition and removal of derelict buildings and vehicles aid in the reduction of adverse environmental impacts such as fire and security hazards, as well as overgrown vegetation, which can harbour vermin and pests, such as rats and mosquitoes that can lead to the spread of diseases.

The EPD is requesting the public’s assistance in identifying possible derelict buildings and vehicles.  To do so, persons should call the department at 535-4600, and give the location, including the street name and any identifying landmarks of the building or vehicle.

The department is also seeking to enlist the help of contractors interested in participating in the programme, who have Hiab and truck, and skid steer, to submit their information to Tonya Armstrong, by calling 535-4625, or emailing tonya.armstrong@epd.gov.bb

sheena.forde-craigg@barbados.gov.bb

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