Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Sale of Materials Contaminated with Cyanide Denounced

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BUENOS AIRES, Jul 30 2012 (IPS) - An environmental organization in the central Argentine province of Córdoba has accused a company devoted to the final disposal of hazardous waste of illegally selling contaminated materials. The Foundation for the Defense of the Environment (FUNAM) has called for an investigation of the alleged sale of 42 tons of pipes contaminated with cyanide from the Cerro Vanguardia and Manantial Espejo mines in the southern province of Santa Cruz.

According to information received by FUNAM from confidential sources, the discarded pipes were collected by the private company Taym, which is responsible for isolating and storing hazardous waste in Córdoba, and then sold to private parties for reuse.

“This sort of thing happens because in Córdoba there is no law that prohibits receiving hazardous wastes, and so mega mining projects, which use cyanide in other provinces, dispose of their toxic substances here,” FUNAM president Raúl Montenegro told Tierramérica.