Ecobreves – CUBA: Sugar Mills Pollute River

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

HAVANA, Mar 3 2003 (IPS) - Two sugar mills in the southeastern province of Guantánamo dumped industrial waste into the Guaso River, causing serious ecological damage and economic losses for the region. The contamination poisoned thousands of fish and meant that potable water services were cut off for some 55,000 residents, two hospitals and two schools.

The Argelio Martínez agro-industrial complex, which also has a distillery and a rum factory, spilled waste in the Guaso River on Feb 10.

Shortly after, residue from El Salvador sugar mill was dumped into the waters of the Bano River, which flows into the Guaso. The Guantánamo-Guaso basin, covering 2,347 square km is home to 410,000 people.