Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Uranium Victims Await Justice

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BUENOS AIRES, Jun 3 2006 (IPS) - A couple ill with cancer were accepted this month as plaintiffs by the Argentine judiciary, which is investigating charges of uranium contamination of water near the Ezeiza Atomic Center, in Buenos Aires province. Two years ago, Beatriz Rodríguez, 62, was diagnosed with breast cancer, and her husband, Antonio Rota, 65, with lung cancer that has metastisized in the ganglia.

“The oncologist assures there is a direct relation between the uranium and the cancer,” Rota told Tierramérica. In the first instance, a judge rejected the case, but the Federal Chamber of Appeals accepted it. “This will allow us to present evidence and experts,” he said.

The couple lives near the atomic center, which is under scrutiny by the legal authorities for the high levels of uranium found in the underground water in surrounding areas.