Perú: New Oil Spill in Corrientes River

Servindi, octuber 01, 2010 - Eleven communities of Villa Trompeteros in the region of Loreto do not have drinking water due to an oil spill caused by the company, Pluspetrol, in the Corrientes River, which took place a week ago.

This claim was made by the members of the Federation of Native Communities of the Corrientes River (FECONACO) and the Inter-Ethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP).

Representatives of the indigenous organizations explain that this new spill is polluting approximately 15 to 20 kilometers of the river course.

Likewise, despite the measures taken by Pluspetrol, the inhabitants of the communities state that people have suffered the effects of the contamination because they drank the river water.

FECONACO and AIDESEP demand that the government and the Supervisory Board for Investment in Energy and Mining (OSINERGMIN) investigate the case in order to determine liability.

For Pluspetrol, however, the problem should not cause alarm. Arturo Granda, Coordinator of Institutional Relations of the company, told the newspaper, El Comercio, that the "situation is under control and that the spill only consists of three barrels of oil".

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Traducción para Servindi de Sylvia Fisher.

Related links:

• Perú: Nuevo derrame en río Corrientes, a la altura de Villa Trompeteros, afecta 11 comunidades