Stools and allowances silence between the authority and the suffering of the inhabitants of the Bay of Quintero, vomiting living with progress that respiratory diseases and poverty are the daily bread of a polluted waterfront.
are 30 years of pollution that affects more than 30 thousand people in the communes of Quintero and Puchuncaví, the misery of a population that has elected mayors who do not represent their interests, an authority that does not review nor heard from judges who decide to endorse their seats makers illegally, refusing protection resources provided by neighbors.
Amid this climate, social organizations are dying suffocated with food from the countryside and the sea products rapidly destroyed by a polluted environment where unscrupulous transnational corporations create auspicious business between Windows and Loncura locations in the V region.
POVERTY AND PAIN JUST BRING PROGRESS existing
Humanity is tired of drawing attention following the steps constitutional claim in this way, for years in the same and have not been listened to with shots of routes and, in each call, increases progressively the degree of concern among people about their health and the loss of their jobs.
This concern reveals Luis Ureta Vergara, treasurer of the Caleta El Embarcadero "for a while now we are leaving the bay, not allow us to work around this issue of the ships and companies that are here, progress is supposed to benefit us all, we live of fishing that gives us the ability to have support and are almost always closed the bay by one and another thing that does not always have to do with the weather, but with spills and maneuvering of the ships that bring oil, gas and chemicals that will for private companies such as mining and industries in Santiago "he says. As Gerardo Muñoz, also leader predicts the extinction of artisanal fishing "zones which generally deal for some kind of extraction is limited to the minimum" points.
men struggling to put food on the population say they do not get the bivalve shellfish, abalone, limpets, sea urchins, fish such as conger eels, mackerel, sardines were abundant. Sergio Silva Windows fisherman said "our efforts must go beyond, these marches are going to have to raise awareness and much depends on the media that deliver information to assist the public debate of the problem if we continue like this, let ask for support in all its forms because we no longer are tools, the manifestations are many, students, fishermen, bankers, workers and no answers. " LEGALITY
GRANTED TO THE ILLEGAL
Given the continued silencing of the problem in the Bay, the neighbors try to get to firms to central government, say we want to solve the problem and support participatory discussion before they generate other types of events, board attorney Ricardo Correa ecological Quintero-Puchuncaví says "we have lodged appeals against the thermal protection Campiche (responsible for the pollution of the estuary of the same name) just as we did with Window 3 both owned by AES Gener in the first instance we lost two to one, but hopefully our judiciary this time right about the arguments being given and properly observe the enormous irregularities and omissions contained in this site. " Correa alludes to the constant changes made at the regulators as to facilitate the installation of these plants, an issue he says is the responsibility of commitment to the mayor Agustin Valencia (Puchuncaví) with transnationals. The Mayor referred
unscrupulous install another 11 that would add to the 4 existing power plants on the coast, threatening to emissions of volatile gases and particles of carbon storage product, whose scents are similar to the result of a welding arc.
THE SILENCE OF STATE NOT SO INNOCENT
what happened with regard to pollution have been oblivious of the reports and studies in the affected communes, Mauricio Cancino director of the office windows says "the health SEREMI V region has never attended our office to obtain records regarding the diagnosis, we have spent years working and there are many problems respiratory cancer in the population, "emphasizes the professional. Vivencio Fernando, a lawyer for the community assumes that invoking constitutional guarantees as the right to life, a clean environment is a way "but also, people should be more numerous in their calls, has polluted the coast, golf Puchuncaví I was a producer of garden peas, beans and lentils " arguing with Cancino says you have to generate urgent mitigation measures ending with the installation of power plants and increase recovery of soil resources, culture and health of the affected population.
CHRONICLE OF A DEATH ANNOUNCED
February 12, 1961, the plant was opened windows, the Valparaiso Mercurio stated in its editorial "remote windows open plain about 14 miles of hills and exposed to winds the sea, offers no danger of contamination by atmospheric gases. It has excellent weather, agriculture less important and more remote than other places, this distance conveniently from the population and has at sea sewage drains without risk of contamination occurs streams. (González 1997).
sector that is located in the industrial belt Windows - Loncura, E9B corresponds to the area, classified as a "Zone of Dangerous and Unhealthy Industries." Supreme Decree No. 116 published MINVU OJ 27/8/1987. This zoning subdivisions accept no less than 5,000 m2 farm, expressly forbidding the placement of all types of buildings devoted to housing, equipment of any scale or type, commercial, office, temporary or permanent camping, resorts of all kinds, etc.. (Oxiquim, 1998)
CHILECTRA (THEN AES GENER) comes into operation in 1958 as part of the expansion and improvement plan that began that year Chilectra. The immediate object of this facility was to supply, in part, the constant demand for electricity by the rapid industrial development that is recorded in this period, associated with increased household consumption.
WINDOWS I: in 1964 in service windows I thermoelectric power plant with an installed capacity of 115,000 kw. Techniques designed for the modern time that allow it to charcoal, and oil emergencies. I window from 1977 is complemented by the construction Windows II, taking advantage of it infrastructure and existing generating additional power of 210,000 kW. (Rojo et, all 1994).
Since 1992 the company had to begin a process of reduction of pollutants, which has reduced from 26,000 tons of particulate matter emitted into the atmosphere during 1993 to 3,000 tonnes in 1999. For this purpose the company has had to build three electrostatic precipitators, which together with other environmental investments for a total of U.S. $ 18,500,000 the amount allocated to reduce their environmental impact. (Voigt, 2003).
ENAMI: Installed today ENAMI refinery-Chile Codelco in 1964. The company has allowed the country to increase its export of copper most valuable metal, rather than concentrates that were carrying the quantities of gold and silver could not profit from Chile. (Inzunza, 1996)
This industry generates waste gases, liquids and solids, all in large volumes, which requires specialized treatment, so as to reduce the level of risk to the environment, in all its forms, is discussed in waste. (Lopez, 1997)
GASMAR: The project started in the nineties, when the gas company in Santiago consumers, GASCO, decided to have a liquefied gas supply complementary ENAP and spot purchases to Argentina, in response to the sharp increase internal demand fuel, which grew over 10% per annum for three years. For this GASCO and shipping companies formed the Enterprise GASMAR Cosmos, the branch faced the project, which was negotiated with Oxiquim the lease was granted partial sea in Windows, and the land to place the storage facility. The terminal consists Gasmar unloading equipment located at the end of spring Oxiquim, and storage and distribution plant, installed in the south of the smelter Enami. From the pier, the gas is piped to two large storage tanks, one of 20,000 m2 for propane and another for 10,000 m2 of butane. (Inzunza, 1996)
Raw materials receiving GASMAR, LP and butane are transported by land and sea and should be considered as hazardous materials in the same activity as well as their subsequent handling in the manufacture of commercial mixtures (López, 1997)
ENAP: Aconcagua refinery installed a dock or port unloading of oil. For this purpose built storage tanks of fuel (in a safe place), the area chosen was the Bay of Quintero-Window.
The company is the largest producer of VOC contaminants such Quintero Commune. (Arévalo et all, 2003)
Puerto Ventanas SA: At the beginning of the nineties was a modest dock just 700 feet long, was nothing more than a crane with a bucket for unloading coal, about 2 tons. He was two yards of landing for ships up to 70,000 tons. Also had a conveyor belt material, mainly coal Chilectra. The pilings holding a through street to its end, offshore. A foreign company whose major shareholders, German and English, claimed all port facilities.
The loading and unloading of copper concentrate include manipulation of it, not only through conveyor belts but also for use of cranes, exposed to wind action. The possibility fall into the sea and consequent contamination of sediments is evident, making it advisable to install protection system to prevent fugitive dust. MARINE TERMINAL
OXIQUIM: Consists of a flexible pipe buoy intended for loading and unloading of bulk chemical products are stored in ponds available to the terminal. There is a history of spills that have been controlled in time.
OXIQUIM resin plant. Installed for a couple of years, there is no more a history of it. Lubricants plant
COPEC: Initially it was located in the area of \u200b\u200bSalinas in Vina del Mar and this year is installed on the edge of the bay Quintero Loncura sector.
FUEL AND ASPHALT TERMINAL PACSA: The company installed in 1999, say in the Citizen Participation Workshop organized by CONAMA that the probability of a spill is one in 100 years, in 2003 with a spill of 15,000 gallons of hydrocarbon IFO 380 in the spring of Windows. CEMENT TERMINAL
MELON COLLECTION: It has built within the port areas of Port wine cellar windows dome for storage of clinker-bauxite, compounds used for making cement
Pedro Herrera
