Ecobreves – CHILE: No to Pulp Mill Waste in the Sea

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

SANTIAGO, May 13 2006 (IPS) - Environmentalists, artisanal fisherfolk, community leaders and marine sport enthusiasts have told the Chilean government that the pulp mill plants must improve their technology and prevent discharge of their industrial waste into rivers, lakes and the Pacific Ocean. “The authorities mast have the will to make technological change a reality in this type of industry, so that they don't contaminate water with waste that is toxic to human health,” Antonia Fortt, environmental engineer with the Oceana organization, told Tierramérica.

The pulp mill firms Celulosa Aracuo and Constitución (Celco), which in 2003 caused a massive die-off of swans and other species in the Rio Cruces nature sanctuary, are planning to build a pipeline to discharge their liquid waste into the Pacific Ocean