Toxic container homes?

The Kingston Logistics Centre (KLC) is to this week address safety and health concerns dogging a recently announced container home programme that Prime Minister Andrew Holness has lauded as a cost-effective solution for home ownership in Jamaica.  
On Friday, the Opposition urged the Government to tread cautiously with rubber stamping the project, as converting shipping containers for residential purposes may have serious long-term health and safety implications for occupants. 
Earlier this month, the KLC announced that it would offer six container housing solutions ranging from 160 to 800 square feet. They are priced between $2.3 million and $12.5 million and are designed in one- to three-bedroom units. 
At the launch, Holness said the move offered good business prospects and housing solutions, noting that Jamaica has a housing deficit of more than 100,000 units.  
Some Jamaicans are jumping at the idea of the cheaper homes, but remain cautiously optimistic in light of the warning about the long-term impact from aging and the possibility of toxic substances tainting the structure that could lead to hazardous consequences down the road.
“The model of using container housing is one that I will not support,” charged Sherika Whitelocke-Ballingsingh, poison information expert at the Caribbean Poison Information Network located at the University of Technology. 
“Presently, there are numerous discussions on toxic exposure of which Jamaica is a part, and if we do not have enough data, both from other countries with similar contexts and within our own country, we have to be very careful how we make those decisions,” stressed Whitelock-Ballingsingh, warning that repurposing shipping containers for housing solutions could spell danger for the island.
“We don’t have any data on any system. I see the UK and America trying these models, but their climatic condition and population are totally different, and we don’t know how they have tested these containers for health and safety. If Jamaica does not have that scientific data nor have validated such data, we are going to be putting our population in harm’s way,” she argued, though praising the Government’s push to find affordable housing solutions. 
MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR GLOBAL MARKET
Space constraints and rising housing prices have been driving the growth in the container-homes market worldwide, as cheaper living solutions compared to traditional houses.
“The size of the container-home market in 2021 was estimated at US$56.85 billion worldwide, and it is expected to grow to US$87.1 billion by 2029, and we see how this is possible because companies that are involved in shipping, in architecture, in furniture designs and development are merging the technology to provide solutions to housing demand,” Holness said at the launch.
But, with the growing popularity of recycling shipping containers into living spaces, international experts have warned that second-hand containers are not without risks.
Among the main safety concerns raised by overseas experts are that the majority of the containers’ wooden floors are usually treated with hazardous substances such as pesticides; and that some shipping containers are coated in harmful chemicals such as phosphorus and chromate. These can cause various types of cancers and ulcers.
Additionally, they have noted that it is difficult to track the history of items that have been transported in specific containers, and, without careful reinforcement, the “metal boxes” could fold against the long-term rigours of home occupancy.
NO AVAILABLE DATA 
Whitelock-Ballingsingh explained to The Sunday Gleaner that shipping containers pose environmental and public health risks as there is “no available data on toxic substances spilled in the containers, no published protocol on cleaning and sanitising measures done prior to shipment use, and no communication regarding the training and skill provided to individuals who carry out cleaning and sanitisation, if any is done.” 
There is also no information on air-quality emission within containers when constantly exposed to varying temperatures, the poison information coordinator continued, adding that thermal environment comfort, especially for vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the disabled, has not been included in the discussion. 
“Not until this data is provided should a concrete decision be made to go forward with the plan. I urge leaders to be very careful of the long-term impact on our population and environment,” she said.
Whitelocke-Ballingsingh’s comments followed statements from Opposition Spokesman on Housing and Sustainable Living, Senator Floyd Morris, who on the weekend was similarly concerned. In an interview with The Sunday Gleaner, he also pressed for clarity from the authorities.
“We have to make sure that there are safety standards established to ensure that we have a history of the goods transported in these containers. Some of them transport concentrates of toxic chemicals, including nuclear waste,” Morris posited. “We want to make sure that none of the containers being converted into housing have these sorts of exposure.” 
CONCERNS TO BE ADDRESSED IN LIVE BROADCAST
Yesterday, Cherine Forbes, marketing and business development manager at the KLC, told The Sunday Gleaner that the company was aware of the concerns, which they intend to address in full later this week.
“We will have a live broadcast on our social media platform on Wednesday, by which time we will speak to that; not before,” offered Forbes, declining to comment further on the issue.
The broadcast is slated to start at 3:30 p.m. 
The Sunday Gleaner understands that the containers used in the programme are made from steel, and typically have a shelf life of up to 30 years, if properly treated and maintained. The company is hoping the concept will grow on Jamaicans, which Prime Minister Holness himself touted at the launch.
It is also reported that the containers are sourced from one reputable shipping company.
The Office of the Prime Minister could not immediately respond to Sunday Gleaner queries regarding container homes as a viable solution to Jamaica’s home-ownership woes in time for publication on the weekend, nor could it speak on potential health hazards. 
Neither could the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation, when asked about regulations for container homes and offices; nor the Jamaica Customs Agency, which reportedly has a specific department to deal with toxic substances entering the island’s ports.
The entities promised to respond to the queries this week.
GLOBAL-WARMING IMPLICATIONS
Christopher Burgess, managing director of development company CEAC Solutions Company Limited, described the Government’s plan for container homes as an invitation for trailer park living locally. 
While seemingly affordable, it does not offer the long-term cultural norms of Jamaicans proudly passing down homes through generations, he charged.
“We live in a culture where people want to build houses that they can pass down from one generation to the next. These container homes are not sustainable when compared to the usual concrete structures,” said Burgess, whose business focusses on the design and construction of traditional structures. 
He added that the impact of global-warming should also be considered for developing island states like Jamaica. 
“Containers are notorious for being very hot, and global warming is only going to make it worse, no matter how you try to cool it. You are going to put people in a construction that are notoriously uncomfortable for working conditions, much less those for housing,” Burgess said, dreading the sleepless nights which some purchasers may have to endure. 
However, Stephanie Elliot, CEO of Compass Renovations and Cleaning, which was among the first to introduce container housing in Jamaica in 2016, disagrees. 
Her clientele for container homes is made up mainly of returning residents, and she said the number of younger buyers is increasing.
Container construction can start as low as $2 million, dependent on the features desired, she said. However, this is out of pocket, as the National Housing Trust (NHT) has yet to offer loans for container housing solutions. 
“Containers are very versatile. I have constructed homes with both concrete and containers, and also homes with containers alone. We can start a home with a 20-foot container and that person can choose to expand on it,” Elliot told The Sunday Gleaner.
“I have a database of over 10,000 people who are interested in container homes. The only thing that is holding many of the young people back is that they don’t have the land. Then there are those with family land issues.”
‘ONLY WAY TO OWN A HOME’
“I will definitely purchase a container home,” 26-year-old Akeem McDonald told The Sunday Gleaner.
His friend Kirk Martin chimed in, “At the rate at how Jamaica is going, that’s the only way I’m going to own a home.”
Both say they will pay attention to the arguments about the health and safety concerns but won’t be too hung up on them.
“If it even means I have to hitch it to my car and drive around with it since I don’t have any land, I’ll do that. Us young people can’t even afford rent in Jamaica, much more to buy a house. So container house look like it,” McDonald said.
For Maxine Walters, the money from a long-awaited settlement was just enough to buy a $1.8 million container home in 2018 for her mother in Clarendon. At the time it was a no-brainer.
“Sometimes I don’t even remember that it is a container house. At the time, I was convinced it was better to own than if I put the money in the bank and eat it little little,” said the owner of the sectioned 40-foot container which holds a one-bedroom, with living and dining space.
“Now that it is finished, and the roof is on, it doesn’t even look like a container, although my mother (71 years old) feels a way that she is living in a container. But I don’t see anything wrong with it. It is her home, and I don’t see her living any different from anybody else.”
As it relates to health and safety concerns associated with the repurposed shipping container, she is just “praying for the best”.
corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com