Last Monday’s chemical leakage from a Marsa factory caused a two-hour traffic chaos leaving thousands of people stranded in their cars and others indirectly affected. Many production hours were lost in the process. It is useless complaining of such accidents if the public does not specifically raise questions, the answers to which can shed a clear light of the country’s preparedness in the face of future accidents involving hazardous waste and their prevention and cure. The following questions beg an answer:

1.     What is the environmental impact of this accident?  Can it be assessed or quantified? The soil, trees and water table were affected. Not all the chemical was collected and the rest was washed away and will eventually end up in the water we drink and the vegetables, fruits and fish we eat.

2.     Why was only one chemical absorber available to collect the chemical spill?  When this broke down, the rest of the chemical was collected using shovels and the rest ended up being washed away by fire engine bowsers.

3.     What was the chemical spilled? Oil or acid?

4.     Is Malta really prepared in the eventuality of a chemical attack with a proper emergency response team to tackle hazardous chemicals?

5.     Was the chemical being stored for use or for dumping and if for dumping, where was it going to be dumped? And was the factory observing the proper preventive health and safety laws?

6.     Did the cars who passed over the chemical suffer any damage?

7.     Will the responsible party be sued and made to pay?

It is hoped that these questions are answered soon and the public not left in the dark in the aftermath. The Marsa bridge accident of three years ago came and went but little or nothing has been heard of since. I sincerely augur that this will not happen in this case. It would be unfair not to thank the Fire Brigade, the Police and the Civil Protection Department for last Monday’s work in getting things back to normal as soon as possible.

Anthony Zarb Dimech

Birkirkara