Proximity to oil refineries causing concern
KUWAIT CITY: Attorney Faisal Al-Kandari has warned the government about an impending danger or a real disaster from the Mina Abdullah Scrapyard which is filled with old tires and all kinds of wastes, reports Al-Anba daily.
The main cause of anxiety is the proximity of the scrapyard to the oil refineries. He emphasized the need for a radical solution to this problem through the construction of a factory to recycle old tires or export them to the outside world instead of allocating sites to gather these tires.
He added the recent fire at Rahiya should be an eye opener because the fumes emitted by the burning of the fires enveloped the Jahra and Farwaniya governorates.
He said that "what we saw was like a fantasy due to willful negligence." He added for 72 hours the skies were clouded with black smoke which brought back the memories of the burning of the oil wells in the 1990s. He said the government has turned a blind to this issue.
He said he is surprised at the recommendation by the Municipal Council to allocate 6 sites to collect used tires in Salmi over an area of 50,000 square meters each.
He said this is not a solution but a prelude to a new catastrophe. He said the government must address the situation through the establishment of a factory to recycle these tires or export them to countries which are willing to recycle them after taking into account the economic feasibility at home.
He revealed Kuwait will face a dangerous situation, more dangerous than what we witnessed in Jahra. In the event of a fire in Mina Abdullah Scrapyard, it would be a disaster given the vitality of the region and the proximity to the oil refineries.
He noted the tires dumped at this site are collected from various parts of the desert. He called this naked infringement on public property. He said there are people who make money out of this at the expense of citizens' lives and health of their children.
Al-Kandari warned the government against laxity in addressing the issue of tires dumped in the Mina Abdullah Scrapyard. He called it a time-bomb that can explode any moment and cause disaster whose outcome can be disastrous.
The recent fire in Rahiya which nearly caused an environmental disaster when the car tires went up in flames was caused by some influential people in the best interest of their own projects, reports Al-Watan Arabic daily.
This is according to the owner of the Al-Faza'ah Company for commercial trade and contracting the company which owned the tires that went up in flames.
He pointed out that if the fire had erupted in populated areas the effect would have been much greater that the burning oil wells. The victims would have been not only the environment but the health of the people which would last for many years to come.
During an interview he told the daily the area where the tires were stored was taken from the Kuwait Municipality during a fair bidding, however, the Municipality took back 60 percent of the land without reason saying it was not part of the bid.
© Arab Times 2012
