June 26, 2012
Victory for Polluted Chilean Community
BY: Rachael Prokop
We have some good news from Chile — Oceana has been fighting against the approval of a thermoelectric plant, Punta Alcalde, and we are excited to announce that the plant’s permit was denied this week.
The plant was to be built in Huasco, which is already suffering from severe air pollution from four coal-powered thermoelectric power plants and an iron plant operating nearby.
Despite the already grim situation in Huasco, Punta Alcalde did not comply with the government requirements needed to ensure that the plant would not worsen the air quality of the area.
In Huasco and other industrial communities in Chile, these plants have been pumping warm water and pollutants into the oceans, destroying the local ecosystems and raising mercury levels in fish. On land, toxic clouds and heavy-metal contamination are sickening the local populations. A video from another such town, Ventanas, shows the human toll: the fishing industry there is devastated and people are dying with heavy metal contaminants in their bodies.
Oceana has been campaigning for better pollution standards in Chile and working to prevent the construction of new coal-powered thermonuclear plants. Give today to support our work to protect Chile’s people and marine life from severe pollution.
Congratulations to our team in Chile for this significant step forward for the people and marine life of Huasco!