By Admin. Updated 5:55 a.m., Wednesday, December 7, 2022, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
The St. Vincent Brewery Limited has issued a statement in relation to complaints about an abnormal odor affecting people living close to its manufacturing plant at Campden Park.
On December 5, a resident of Roucha Bay Campden Park reached out to One News SVG complaining about an odor they say originates from the Brewery’s manufacturing plant at Campden Park.
One News SVG visited the Roucha Bay area on Tuesday, December 6 and spoke to some residents who said the issue has been occurring for years, but it has amplified in recent weeks.
Some residents say they have not been able to sleep well for weeks and that some children have experienced “bad feelings” from the persistent stench.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, the Brewery said it is, “currently investigating complaints from residents regarding an abnormal smell within the vicinity of the plant,” and said the brewery is “proud” of its “unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship”.
In the statement, the brewery said it recognizes the “importance and urgency of addressing the recent concerns”.
The brewery said it, “has arranged to fly in expert technical and environmental teams to do an assessment to ensure our operations are conducted in a manner that takes into consideration the health and safety of our employers and the people in the community.”
“These teams are expected to arrive in St. Vincent this week,” the brewery said.
Here is the full statement
The management of St. Vincent Brewery Limited (SVBL) is currently investigating complaints from residents regarding an abnormal odor within the vicinity of the plant.
We at the St. Vincent Brewery Ltd are proud of our unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship. Aligned with that commitment, in 2011 we invested and installed a wastewater treatment facility, the first of its kind for any manufacturing plant in the country, A a cost of EC$3.2 million. These systems are used in most beverage production facilities worldwide to remove contaminants from factory waste. A major overhaul of the plant was done in January 2022 and from then to now we have not had any complaints of this nature.
We believe that brewing great products depends on a resilient natural environment and thriving communities. We therefore recognize the importance and urgency of addressing the recent concerns. We want to uphold the best standards internally to reduce our environmental impact and are committed to continuously reviewing and improving our operations. To this end, the company has arranged to fly in expert technical and environmental teams to do an assessment to ensure that our operations are conducted in a manner that takes into consideration the health and safety of our employees and the people in the community. These teams are expected to arrive in St. Vincent this week. In preparation for the team’s arrival, the company has been advised to initiate drainage of its wastewater treatment tank. Unfortunately, this means that an intermittent odor might be experienced as part of the process.
The company has also engaged a local environmental expert to independently review the plant operations and its impact on the surrounding community. The objective is to continually improve our performance in minimizing adverse impacts on the environment in our processes and facilities in the best interest of our staff and the community.
We have made several visits in the area to assure residents that we are actively investigating the situation with the goal of solving the root cause.
The management of St. Vincent Brewery also intend on hosting a community meeting to address and respond directly to concerns and to provide updates on our investigations and resolutions.
We dream big to create a future with more cheers. Our ambition is to continue to provide the highest quality products that you know and love, reinforc. by our shared belief and clear intention to enable a sustainable and inclusive future. It is about adopting a larger sense of leadership to cultivate shared prosperity and long-term value creation. A future with more cheers is shared prosperity, for our communities, for the local economy, for the planet and for our company.
We thank you for your continued support and assure of our commitment to conduct our business to adhere to the highest standards of business integrity, transparency and ethics.
ST. VINCENT BREWERY LTD
One News St.Vincent 