After more than a month of intense remedial efforts, the fire at the Duquesa garbage dump in northern Santo Domingo has been put out, says the Ministry of Public Works. Limestone was placed on top the burning garbage to stop the lingering blaze that caused a thick smog. The toxic smoke covered the city of Santo Domingo mainly in the early morning when the winds blow north to south. The garbage dump has been plagued by years by mismanagement and corruption.
Hundreds of firefighters from 60 locations around the country, and even from Puerto Rico, endeavored to put out the fire that had begun on 28 April 2020, working with workers from the Ministry of Public Works and the Santo Domingo North municipality.
On Tuesday, Carlos Guzman, mayor of Santo Domingo North announced that Duquesa is free of smoke.
The work carried out involved the construction of more than 2,000 meters of roads inside the dump, and more than 430,000 meters of limestone and clay were spread over the solid waste. The burned area was estimated to be around 55% of the dump’s total size, which is 1,220,000 square meters.
Minister of Public Works Ramón Pepín said that the flames were extinguished days ago, but that the smoke had remained in some places.
On a sad note published in Diario Libre on 26 May 2020, coinciding with the resolving of the garbage dump crisis, the media announced the death of a university student, 27-year old Paola Inoa, who had suffered Covid-19 but died when her condition worsened. Her lungs did not resist the toxic fumes from Duquesa. Inoa was a resident of El Manguito and already suffered from asthma. Her baby was born by C-section, but she didn’t make it.
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Diario Libre
Hoy
Ministry of Public Works
27 May 2020