Is it possible that there are harmful emissions of hydrogen sulfide from rotting sargassum or seaweed which so often, as now, litters the shores of Anguilla and other Caribbean islands?
That became a matter for a passing brief discussion on Tuesday, July 9, when the subject of sargussum was mentioned during an Air Quality Workshop in Anguilla by Mr. Timothy Hodge, Director of Social Security, the main sponsor of the event.
Commenting on the matter, the visiting workshop facilitator, Ms. Ermine Hermans, said it was just on Tuesday July 9 she had a conversation with a United Nations Environmental Director in connection with an outdoor air quality meter in a fishing community in St. Lucia to monitor the impacts of sargassum on that community. “You wouldn’t believe the level of hydrogen sulfide in the degradation of that sargassum,” she remarked.
Referring to Mr. Hodge’s concerns, she said: “You hit the nail on its head when you said that there is an impact – and it is a very negative impact – not only on health, but also on physical structures and the flora/fauna surrounding the environment where the sargassum is present.”
She continued: “if your building is within such an environment, and you are open to natural ventilation, you can imagine the impact of corrosive hydrogen sulfide on the structure and on the individuals in that environment.”
Meanwhile, new waves of sargassum continue to come ashore particularly on the eastern coasts of Anguilla. Patriotic persons, and visitors, have piled up several mounds of the smelly brown algae for removal at Sandy Hill Beach from where most of the stench is blown downwind.
