Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Protests Against Cereal Pollution

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BUENOS AIRES, Oct 6 2008 (IPS) - Based in a tent in the eastern Argentine city of Rosario, civil society groups are demanding action on a court order to shut down a cereal storage and production site that they say is polluting the environment with pesticides. A few years ago there were eight cereal factories, but complaints from local residents about increases in cancer cases and genetic deformities has left just one in operation, owned by Servicios Portuarios SA, Víctor Smith, one of the protest organizers, told Tierramérica.

They are also calling for an end to pesticide contamination in the urban zone and for the government to monitor the concentration of toxic gases in the air, he said.

In July 2007, the national Supreme Court of Justice ordered the company to shut down operations, but the order has yet to be heeded.