Dangers Of Microplastics

Written By Michael Spence

The word "microplastics" is everywhere. Used alone, it’s not very helpful. 

These are simply tiny fragments of plastic. To actually protect human health, we need to know what these particles are made of.

Not all plastic is the same. The danger comes from the specific chemicals in the plastic, how they leach out, and where they end up. By treating "microplastics" as a single thing, we miss the chance to fix the problem at its source.

Lab studies and environmental testing keep pointing to the same groups of substances that ride on or inside plastic particles:

• Phthalates: Used to soften plastics. They are known endocrine disruptors and have been linked to changes in reproductive health and hormone balance.
• Bisphenol A (BPA): Used in polycarbonates and epoxy resins. It mimics estrogen and has been associated with metabolic issues and increased risk for breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers.
• PFAS: The "forever chemicals." They don’t break down, accumulate in organs, and have been tied to weakened immune response and liver stress.
• Heavy metals and carcinogens: Toxins like cadmium and benzene can be additives in plastic, or adsorb onto plastic particles in water and soil, turning the particle into a carcinogenic delivery vehicle.

These are not inherent to all plastics. They are choices made in manufacturing. So what’s the solution?

If the problem is chemical composition, the solution has to be chemical composition too. Banning straws won’t address this.

For manufacturers and regulators:

1. Screen and phase out high-risk additives in plastics that contact food, water, and children’s products. Prioritize phthalate-free, BPA-free, and PFAS-free formulations.
2. Mandate disclosure of the exact additive mix in food containers and packaging, the same way we list ingredients on food.
3. Invest in safer materials for food storage: glass, stainless steel, and plastics engineered without persistent endocrine disruptors.

For the individuals I recommend:

1. Reduce heat + plastic contact*. Don’t microwave food in plastic, and avoid storing hot, fatty, or acidic foods in low-grade plastic containers.
2. Choose food-grade materials* for daily use. Glass or stainless containers for leftovers, and a reusable water bottle made without BPA and PFAS.
3. Filter drinking water* where PFAS and plastic residue are known issues in local supplies.

Talking about microplastics without naming the chemistry is a distraction. It makes the problem feel vague and unsolvable.

The actionable path is clear: identify the hazardous additives, remove them from products that touch our food and bodies, and give people safer alternatives they can actually use every day.

Ministry of Health Jamaica, elsewhere in the Caribbean and the world.

We don’t need less awareness of plastic. We need more chemical specificity.

Michael Spence

Michael Spence is a graduate of Cornwall College and the University of the West Indies. He is a trained teacher, a sociologist, and a writer for Bark Di Trute.

Micspen2@hotmail.com 

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Prostate Cancer

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Alert - NWC Customers In Constant Spring

Press Release Fom The NWC - August 16, 2026

Customers on the Constant Spring network night-time water supply schedule are being advised that the schedule will commence at 10:00 pm tonight, due to ongoing leak repair activities.

Customers are encouraged to conserve their stored supply at this time. 

Impacted areas include:

Central Avenue, Honey Hill, Beverlydale, upper sections of Constant Spring Road, Roehampton and nearby areas, Highland Drive and nearby areas, upper Waterloo, Donmair, Mannings Hill Road, Patrick City, West Avenue, Queensborough, Queensbury, Molynes Road, Molynes Gardens, Perkins, White Hall Avenue, Duhaney Park, Pembroke Hall, Sullivan Avenue, Swansea Avenue, Oaklands, sections of Hughenden, Valentine Gardens, Molynes Gardens,  Moreton Park,  Washington Gardens, Kencot, Duquesnay Avenue, North Avenue, Cassia Park, Coleyville Crescent, Duhaney Park,  Richmond Park surrounding communities.

The NWC apologizes for the inconvenience caused to its valued custom.

Editor's Note

The NWC could help customers conserve water by ensuring that old pipelines are repaired and the incidence of leaks decreased dramatically.

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Prostate Cancer

Remember to have your prostate checked out by the doctor, or you might see your maker earlier than he had planned.

Please add your comments at the bottom of the blog.

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Click Here.

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Keep abreast of the news and information in the world. Bark Di Trute, a Jamaican blog, is packed with accurate information. Click the following link and get information at your fingertips. WhatsApp link is: https://chat.whatsapp.com/C9bkP96JIN2JgHiuktY3Jj 

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Was Removal of Squatters And Land Capturers In Cooper Pen Done Illegally?

Contributed

Let me make one thing absolutely clear: I do not support squatting or the unlawful occupation of anybody's land. Property owners have rights, and where a court has lawfully determined that persons have no right to occupy land, that decision should be respected.

But there is another question Jamaicans should be asking about the reported demolition of houses in Coopers Pen, Trelawny:

Was the law itself followed when the court's order was enforced?

It has been reported that the operation began at approximately 3:00 a.m., with a bailiff and members of the police present. If that reported time is accurate, it raises a serious legal question that deserves an answer.

Under Jamaica's Judicature (Resident Magistrates) Act, the provisions dealing with warrants of possession state that a warrant authorizes a bailiff to enter the premises with whatever assistants are considered necessary and give possession accordingly. But the law goes on to place an express limitation on the time of entry:

No entry under such a warrant shall be made except between 8:00 in the morning and 4:00 in the afternoon.

So the question is straightforward:

If a bailiff was executing a warrant of possession at Coopers Pen at 3:00 a.m., under what legal authority was that done?

The presence of the police does not, on its face, answer that question. The same provision already contemplates a bailiff entering with assistants while expressly restricting the hours during which entry under the warrant may occur.

This is not about defending squatting.

It is about defending the rule of law.

If citizens are expected to obey court orders, then those entrusted with enforcing court orders must also comply with the law governing their execution.

Perhaps there was some other court order, statutory authority or legal provision that permitted a 3:00 a.m. operation. If so, the authorities should identify it and put the matter to rest.

But if this was an ordinary warrant of possession governed by the statutory restriction on entry, then Jamaicans are entitled to ask:

Was the Coopers Pen demolition carried out illegally because it was executed at 3:00 a.m.?

And if the answer is yes, who authorized it, why did the police participate, and what accountability will follow?

Supporting property rights and opposing squatting should never require us to turn a blind eye to whether the State itself followed the law.

The court order may have been lawful. The removal of the occupants may have been lawful. But was the manner and time in which that order was executed lawful?

That is the question that deserves a clear answer.

Contributed by Anthony Fisher

Anthony Fisher

Anthony Fisher attended Frome Technical High and Illinois State University. He has a BSc in Mass Media. A former videographer at the Jamaica Information Service, he is now a multimedia communication specialist at the University of Illinois.

Anthony is a member of the diaspora who continues to show keen interest in Jamaica. We appreciate members of the diaspora supporting Bark Di Trute.

Who Is Running NWC

Something is very wrong at NWC. That place has not had effective management for a long time. Sometimes I wonder if these board members do not know what is happening. One is not on a board just to read reports and approve things. Management will clean things up to the point where, by the time board members receive these reports, everything looks fine. 

I remember quite well complaining about the water commission, and the minister told me that things were improving. I asked him why he came to that conclusion, and he said it was because the figures were looking better. It is of paramount importance to give taxpayers excellent service. It is not only about making money. It was reported to me that the NWC head at that time was busy doing his own business outside. I understand that both he and his wife were in the construction business.

Now, I don't know who is in charge of the NWC. It seems that no one is. An area in Kingston has not had water since Sunday, August 9. There are scheduled lockoffs, and added to that, you have broken mains. Apparently, these mains are made of glass.

Tonight they sent out a truck to deliver water to residents. The residents were not advised of the time and the day that water would be trucked to the area. I saw a group of people with a list of names of those who were to get water. I don't know where that list came from. Were the people with the list members of a political party, a church, or a group in the community? The man on the water truck commented that he was tired and that he was going to his yard. Can you imagine an area without water, and NWC sent one truck yesterday and one today?

NWC, if you are going to deliver water by truck, you must have a supervisor for the operation. You also should have a list of your customers in the area, and you should ensure that all residents get some of the precious commodity. You should also be able to estimate how many trucks with water are needed to deliver water to the area. I get the impression that some residents knew what to do to ensure that they got water. Jamaica has a management problem, especially in the public sector. We need to get our house in order.

I must point out that their staff member, Ann Bolt, is a special staff member who does her best to look after the customers.

DEATH

Ruby Dehring

Ruby Dehring, former employee and staff delegate at Air Jamaica, has died. She is the mother of well-known businessman and sports administrator, Christopher Dehring.

Her funeral service will take place later today.

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Prostate Cancer

Remember to have your prostate checked out by the doctor, or you might see your maker earlier than he had planned.

Please add your comments at the bottom of the blog.

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Keep abreast of the news and information in the world. Bark Di Trute, a Jamaican blog, is packed with accurate information. Click the following link and get information at your fingertips. WhatsApp link is: https://chat.whatsapp.com/C9bkP96JIN2JgHiuktY3Jj 

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Land Capture A Carry Di Swing Now!

Squatting has been with us in Jamaica since the end of enslavement. We have failed to address many things like that since the end of slavery. We now blame everyone, including the legal owner of the land at Coopers Pen in Trelawny, for the problem. Earlier today, someone reminded me of a businessman named Witter, whose business place was burned down because he objected to people squatting on his land. A few years ago we heard that the UWI hospital was about to lose its status as a teaching hospital due to squatting. The capturers' community on Mona Commons continues to grow, and this could result in the UWI hospital not being recognized as a teaching hospital any more.

Bark Di Trute writer Michael Spence has written many articles about the problem of squatting, and these articles have been shared with our leaders and the population. Civil society has fallen asleep, and not a word has been heard from the church leaders. The church leaders are possibly saying silent prayers. Where are the members of the intellectual communities? They are probably busy searching the textbooks for solutions.

I see this problem falling into two categories. Those who squat on the land and those who capture the land. The squatters are those who are poor and probably just put up a few sheets of zinc to protect themselves from the elements. Those who take a plot of land without permission and build a permanent one- or two-, or more-story-high house and business place, I call the latter "land capturers." 

Some leaders behave like those birds that fly high up, looking for a location to get some votes. I saw them at Cooper's Pen, making sure that they were on camera. There is one whom I taught as a youngster, and I am surprised that he has reappeared from nowhere like a termite to get in the middle of things. I thought this man was dead politically. Some leaders claim no knowledge of the unplanned development. It seems as if they forgot the places where they went to look for votes. 

If these unplanned areas can develop for years and no one sees them, then terrorists could be building a headquarters to attack our country and other countries, and we are not aware of the development. Parish councils don't see these buildings going up without any approval? Oonu classic.

Let me once again post some solutions:

1. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security should register all those who squat on lands and the location of such lands. Note that I did not mention the land grabbers.
2. Social workers should be assigned to these communities and encourage these people not to have any more children until they have secured a place for themselves.
3. The government should build housing solutions where these people can be housed temporarily. As soon as they get jobs, then you organize them to get NHT benefits.
4. After we have settled those informal settlers, then the concept of adverse possession should be removed from the law books.
5. Organize squatters into work brigades and have them trained in housing construction at HEART/NTA. These brigades could work with other professionals to build low-income-approved buildings in approved areas for their members.
6. Those people who do not get on the programme or who drop out of the programme without an approved reason would end up losing the benefits of the programme.
7. Anywhere there are major developments such as hotels, require that these hotels build low-income houses for their workers who are paid low wages.

Let's hope we can discuss these ideas in parliament rather than engage in the cussing, tracing, and personal attacks of each lawmaker. Some of you politicians and wannabe politicians need to be locked up permanently in His Majesty's Hotel. You are part of the disaster we face in this country. You have all failed to deal with the squatting and land-capturing problem.

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Prostate Cancer

Remember to have your prostate checked out by the doctor, or you might see your maker earlier than he had planned.

Please add your comments at the bottom of the blog.

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Click Here.

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Keep abreast of the news and information in the world. Bark Di Trute, a Jamaican blog, is packed with accurate information. Click the following link and get information at your fingertips. WhatsApp link is: https://chat.whatsapp.com/C9bkP96JIN2JgHiuktY3Jj 

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It's best to view this blog on your computer at https://vderby.blogspot.com.

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Without your support, Bark Di Trute could fail to bark one day. Send your ideas, stories, and news by WhatsApp at (876) 816-5261.

You can view the blog on your computer at https://vderby.blogspot.com, and you will be able to see the various links. For example, there is a link that takes you to the calendar to see what is happening on the weekend. You can even search the site for articles. There is also a weather link, which you can use to track hurricanes.

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Alert - NWC Water Unavailable In Kingston

 

Press Release From The NWC - August 13, 2026

Disruption to Night-Time Water Supply on Constant Spring Network

Customers on the Constant Spring network who are scheduled to receive water tonight August 13, 2026 are being advised that supply will be disrupted due to mechanical issues affecting operations at the Ferry Facility.

The National Water Commission (NWC) is working to resolve the issues and expects to resume distribution for the 6:00 p.m. schedule tomorrow, Friday, August 14, 2026.

In the interim, water trucks will be deployed to the impacted areas throughout tonight to assist affected customers. Customers are also encouraged to conserve their stored supply at this time.

Impacted areas include: Central Avenue, Honey Hill, Beverlydale, upper sections of Constant Spring Road, Roehampton and nearby areas, Highland Drive and nearby areas, upper Waterloo, Donmair, Mannings Hill Road, Patrick City, West Avenue, Queensborough, Queensbury, Molynes Road, Molynes Gardens, Perkins, White Hall Avenue, Duhaney Park,