DISASTER LOOMS: Jamaicans at risk as substandard building blocks flood market

u may be occupying an unsafe building — and the worst part is, you may not be able to tell until it’s too late.

Hundreds of buildings across the island may have been constructed from cinder blocks of inferior quality, which pose a risk to occupants, especially in the face of an earthquake of some strength, a Loop News probe has found.

The Loop News probe found that only 64 from a list of more than 200 block makers across the island are registered and making products that meet the requirement of the Bureau of Standards of Jamaica (BSJ).

Gary Dixon, marketing and public relations manager at the BSJ, said in response to queries from Loop News that 64 per cent of cinder blocks tested by the agency this year was of a substandard quality.

Dixon sought to explain the dismal percentage.

"The reason for this is that some block makers were deregistered for making noncompliant blocks," he said.

Still, as dismal as this may seem, it’s actually an improvement from last year September when 83 per cent of blocks tested was found to be of substandard quality, Dixon said.

The “non-conformance” rate started trending down in December, Dixon said.

This could be attributed to a series of sensitisation programmes targeting block makers.

He explained too that there has been an increase in the number of block makers applying for registration since the launch of the sensitisation programmes.

One building expert — who asked not to be named — explained that the required compressive strength test for blocks is within the region of up to 7 Mega Pascal, and that many of the blocks tested failed to meet the criteria.

Against this background, he explained that the structural integrity of many buildings constructed with the substandard blocks would fail in a serious earthquake.

This could result in substantial loss of lives or injuries, in addition to owners/occupiers of these buildings losing their investments.