The waste ponds used by the state-run metals company Bauxilum, which contain red sludge (silica sands, caustic soda, iron oxides and aluminum oxides), “are at the limit of their capacity and could filter into the surroundings,” says the Aluminum Workers' Syndicate in southeastern Venezuela. Luis Guzmán, of the University of Guayana's environmental management center, told Tierramérica, “the ponds are necessary for waste sedimentation and to allow the liquids to evaporate.”

The problem, he said, “is that the rains raise the pond levels to the point of potential overflow or spills” towards populated areas along the Orinoco River, 500 km southeast of Caracas.

“The community should demand that the company dispose of previously treated waste,” added Guzmán. Bauxilum, which has the capacity to produce two million tons of aluminum oxide, did not comment on this matter.