Linden is the second largest town in Guyana after Georgetown, and capital of the Upper Demerara-Berbice region. It was declared a town in 1970, and includes the communities of MacKenzie and Wismar. It lies on the Demerara River and has a population of roughly 29,298.[1] It is primarily a bauxite mining town, containing many mines 60–90 metres deep, with many other pits now in disuse.
For the past century, there has been a large amount of bauxite produced in Linden. Although Bosai Bauxite Plant has done some measurements of the dust, this has not included atmospheric measurements. Some PM10 and 2.5 sampling provided evidence for the need for dust collector installation, but nothing further than that. Currently, there is no dust collection data.
Medical practitioners and communities have attributed growing cases of respiratory illnesses and other irritants to the bauxite pollution. There have been some, but limited studies on the effects of bauxite.
After enduring decades of dust pollution, the mining town of Linden, would like to understand better how the dust affects residents. They have been suffering from a number of respiratory illnesses, like asthma, and eye irritation due to the dust. Thus, the town seeks studies into the effects of the Bosai Bauxite Plant located in the heart of Linden.
[1] Wikipedia contributors. (2018, December 9). Linden, Guyana. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:20, April 17, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linden,_Guyana&oldid=872884795
The current mayor of Linden, Waneka Arrindell, has a mandate to collaborate on such projects. However, the scientific partner(s) would work directly with Mayor Arrindell and Orleena Obermuller, Town Clerk. Other collaborators in the City of Linden include: Wainewright Bethune, Environmental Chairman; Annette Humphrey, Environmental Health Assistant; Vincent Adams, Guyana Environmental Protection Agency; Regional Democratic Department; Lucina Singh, Office of Climate Change; Shanomae Rose, University of Guyana, Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences; Zoila Fletcher-Payton, Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO); and Abbigail Liverpool in the Guyana Ministry of Public Health.
Mayor Arrindell, Orleena Obermuller and the aforementioned collaborators seek a local and a remote scientific collaborator to do a study to understand the effects of bauxite on human health. Should it be found to be toxic to human health, it would be desirable for those scientific partners to develop an environmental monitoring system that might monitor bauxite over time.
Thriving Earth Exchange asks all scientific partners to work with the community to help define a project with concrete local impact that they can contribute to as pro-bono volunteers and collaborators. This work can also position the scientists and communities to seek additional funding, together, for the next stage.
This project is expected to commence as soon as possible for a duration of approximately six months.
It is expected the scientific partner(s) will collaborate with Linden to ensure improved local understanding and information sharing on this issue. Information collected would help the municipality monitor this pollution moving forward. By better understanding this issue and its effects on residents, they may be able to develop a solution in order to change residents’ behaviors and lifestyles. Moreover, it is expected that this product would have an impact on developing policy to influence the industry itself and direct future Guyanese Environmental Protection Agency studies.
