Oil fills a river in the Loreto region (Screenshot from Panamericana Television)
Mar 26, 2013
The Peruvian government has declared a state of environmental emergency in a remote Amazon region following years of oil extraction and spills that have left an "alarming" level of contamination, and the people in the area in "imminent danger."
The 90-day status was given on Monday for the area along the Pastaza river in the Loreto region, Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal said, because while Argentine company Pluspetrol, which has operated in the area since 2001, may have done some remediation in the area, it was not done adequately, and added that "we know that bad environmental behavior by the company exists."
Congressperson Marisol Perez Tello says Pluspetrol has a license that allows it to pollute every kilo of earth with 30 grams of oil, but even one gram would be above standards, Peruvian newspaper El Comercioreports.
___________________________
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The Peruvian government has declared a state of environmental emergency in a remote Amazon region following years of oil extraction and spills that have left an "alarming" level of contamination, and the people in the area in "imminent danger."
The 90-day status was given on Monday for the area along the Pastaza river in the Loreto region, Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal said, because while Argentine company Pluspetrol, which has operated in the area since 2001, may have done some remediation in the area, it was not done adequately, and added that "we know that bad environmental behavior by the company exists."
Congressperson Marisol Perez Tello says Pluspetrol has a license that allows it to pollute every kilo of earth with 30 grams of oil, but even one gram would be above standards, Peruvian newspaper El Comercioreports.
___________________________
The Peruvian government has declared a state of environmental emergency in a remote Amazon region following years of oil extraction and spills that have left an "alarming" level of contamination, and the people in the area in "imminent danger."
The 90-day status was given on Monday for the area along the Pastaza river in the Loreto region, Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal said, because while Argentine company Pluspetrol, which has operated in the area since 2001, may have done some remediation in the area, it was not done adequately, and added that "we know that bad environmental behavior by the company exists."
Congressperson Marisol Perez Tello says Pluspetrol has a license that allows it to pollute every kilo of earth with 30 grams of oil, but even one gram would be above standards, Peruvian newspaper El Comercioreports.
___________________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.