Toxic spill leaves 500,000 in Brazil without water
Date: 03-Apr-03
Country: BRAZIL
Civil defense and environmental officials said more than 20 towns in Minas Gerais state had been affected by the weekend spill from the Cataguazes de Papel Ltda factory in the small town of Cataguases.
Campos, a large coastal city north of Rio de Janeiro with an estimated population of 400,000 people, said it had shut its water supply and irrigation channels.
Television images showed the rivers Pompa and Paraiba do Sul in Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro states covered with a white foam and people queuing for water ferried in on trucks.
Officials said that while the foam could be contained, the toxic materials had mixed with river water and little could be done before it reached the sea and became diluted.
The spill of millions of gallons (more than a billion liters) of water mixed with toxic waste such as caustic soda from the pulp bleaching process, has also killed fish and animals who drink from the rivers and threatened people living in the area.
Ecology Professor Francisco Esteves from Rio de Janeiro Federal University said it could take the affected ecosystem up to 15 years to return to a "reasonable ecological balance."
In a rare case for Brazil, environmental authorities closed the factory pending an investigation. Criminal charges could follow. The company declined to comment. It faces a fine of 50 million reais ($15 million) for the spill.
Minas Gerais State Environment Secretary Jose Carlos Carvalho said the company had been violating environmental rules and ignored fines that were earlier imposed due to licensing problems.
The conservation group WWF blamed the spreading river contamination on a lack of preparedness by state authorities to combat ecological disasters.