‘Double whammy’ – Buzz Bee Dam residents bemoan dust, noise pollution

Oct 04, 2025 News

---

By Shania Williams

(Kaieteur News) – Buzz Bee Dam, East Bank Demerara (EBD), a once peaceful, country-like community has now become a bustling passageway for heavy-duty trucks, posing significant health and safety hazards to residents. A quiet neighbourhood, where casual conversations between neighbours required only a shout, has now been transformed into a chaotic, noisy environment plagued by dust pollution, constant vibrations, and sleepless nights.

The disruption stems from the recently commissioned four-lane highway connecting Great Diamond to Buzz Bee Dam. While the highway has eased traffic congestion along the wider East Bank corridor and is expected to boost future development, it has had detrimental effects on this once eco-friendly residential area.

Residents, some of whom have lived in the village for over 30 years, are now considering relocating to quieter areas.

Though the internal road in Buzz Bee Dam is not part of the new four-lane expansion, it has been upgraded to support increased traffic. The development is part of the broader ‘Heroes Highway’ initiative aimed at improving connectivity to Soesdyke and Linden. Major residential and retail projects, including TAJ DIAMOND, are also expected in the area.

When Kaieteur News visited the community on Friday, homes were visibly coated in thick layers of black dust, stirred up by the unending stream of passing trucks. Many expressed that dust is entering their homes, forcing them to keep windows and doors shut. Residents cannot enjoy their balconies or open spaces anymore due to the constant dust and noise.

Residents described the dust as overpowering and expressed growing health concerns, particularly for children and the elderly.

Queenela Cameron, a resident for over 30 years, described how her lifestyle has drastically changed. She can no longer enjoy her balcony or leave her windows open. Her once well-used outdoor space is now abandoned, coated in grime. Inside her home, cracks have begun to appear, damage she attributes to the constant vibrations from heavy vehicles passing just feet away.

“Every day, all day, all night, trucks are 15 to 20 feet from our beds and living rooms,” Cameron said. “We are living in an environment of dust, carbon monoxide, and non-stop noise pollution. Many nights, I can’t sleep because the trucks fly over the bumps, blasting their horns. I can’t open my windows. I have to keep my fan and AC running all the time, which drives up my electricity bill. There’s fine black dust everywhere, I’m tired of sweeping. I can’t even sit on my patio anymore. It’s a living nightmare.”

Cameron, who never imagined leaving the village she’s called home all her life, is now contemplating moving, or at least finding a temporary escape just to get some sleep. She criticized the decision to route such major traffic through a populated area without consulting the community. “They could’ve expanded roads through less populated areas,” she said. “Before construction, they didn’t ask us how it would affect us, they just informed us. What about us, the ordinary people? My house and fence are cracking.  We are frustrated and tired, we feel like prisoners.”

While she supports national development, Cameron emphasized that proper planning must include community consultation and mitigation. “When you build roads through established communities, you must consider the consequences. Without the trucks, it wouldn’t be so bad. But now, they’re passing so close to our homes, we’re constantly bombarded with noise, vibrations, and polluted air. Children used to play in front of my house, it was the only safe space for children in the community, but that cannot happen anymore. The children are confined to their yard.  The average person would say yea, let them play in the yard, it’s the safest place, but this is country side; we have our own culture. The children used to ride up and down the street, this is their recreation and all of this is now taken away from us,” Cameron stated.

Due to frustration and concern, Cameron asked the relevant authorities, “when will this end? What is the way forward for us? Are we going to be stuck with this indefinitely, is there going to be a solution?  What are you doing in terms of residence compensation in terms with the structural damages that we are encountering?”

Other residents echoed similar frustrations, each dealing with the impacts in their own way. Samantha Williams, a lifelong resident and mother of four, has worked as a food vendor for nine years. She now faces constant challenges keeping dust out of her food.

“It’s the dust that’s really affecting me,” Williams said. “I do catering, especially in the afternoon when the trucks coming up and down and the dust would pass in the shop. We had to build something in front of the shop so that it can be enclosed and protect the food,” she said.

Her family, once living in a wooden house near the maid road, has had to move into an unfinished concrete structure in their backyard out of fear the wooden home might collapse from continuous vibrations.

David Williams, 56, also a father of four, says he barely gets any sleep at night due to the noise and shaking. “The house keeps shaking. When you’re sleeping, especially at night, it affects me bad. But I gotta get used to it. That’s why I sleep during the day,” he shared.

Another resident, identified only as Miss Bacchus, said the dust keeps her grandchildren away due to allergies. “I can’t bring my grandchild here. One of them wheezes a lot in this dust. Nobody wants to come visit,” she said.

“This dust makes your feet look like you walking in the savannah. The sand is everywhere; I can’t take it. These trucks are the problem. Even if you lock your windows, dust still coming inside. You can’t even hang out your clothes outside, gotta hang it at the back. I can’t take it anymore but what can I do? They have to do something concerning this road, people will die here. I keep moving from one bedroom to the next and it’s the same thing. People can have a nervous breakdown from this,” she related.

Alan Anderson, a clothes vendor and 30-year resident, said he’s had to start shielding his stock with thick plastic to protect them from the dust. “This is the first time something in the community has ever affected me like this. The trucks just keep speeding through, making it worse. We have to start getting accustomed to it,” he said.

Eighty-five-year-old Clothil Gordon said she can no longer leave her home without wearing a mask. “I need the mask to go outside, it’s terrible. My skin scratches all the time,” she lamented.

Efforts to contact the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Kemraj Parsram, for comment or insight into possible interventions on Friday proved futile.

---

• Buzz Bee Dam, dust pollution, heavy-duty trucks, noise pollution, pollution

---