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Last Update: December 26, 2007
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Petrobras Argentina - Closure Lifted
Following Company Commitments to Invest Over US$70 Million in Environmental Improvements
Buenos Aires October 5 th , 2007 – Following nine days of negotiations with federal environmental authorities, after the partial closure of the Brazilian Petrobras Refinery installations in Buenos Aires on the Riachuelo River, for failure to comply with environmental regulations, the Argentine Environment and Sustainable Development Secretariat (the SAYDS) lifted the closure after the company agreed to a US$70 million overhaul of environmental protection measures, management systems and infrastructure, which will be carried out under a strictly monitored “Industrial Clean up Plan”.
Petrobras has committed to: reducing its fowl smelling gaseous effluents, which lower the river's organic compounds; reducing solid waste and conducting more sustainable treatment of the solid and liquid waste as well as introducing a maintenance and preventive system for storage tanks; implementation of a monitoring systems for identification and prevention of fuel leaks and other dangerous substances; introduction of a steam recuperation system and a bottom-loading truck fill up process (better for air quality than the top loading system used now); construction of a new loading dock (built under latest international safety and environmental specifications); introduction of an air and soil quality control monitoring system; energy reduction plans; a better management and safety controls on site; as well as the purchase of two new tankers which are of better environmental quality than the existing ships used by the company.
The Argentine federal environmental authority has called for the end of environmental contamination impunity and has launched a sting operation in the Matanza Riachuelo River Basin , against contaminating industries. The serious contamination in the Riachuelo river region, home to some 7 million of Argentina 's lowest income population, has gone largely unchecked for some 160 years.
The SAYDS has conducted over 1500 inspection in the Matanza Riachuelo River Basin over the last six months. As a result, 193 preventive measures have been sanctioned, and 46 companies have been partially or totally closed for failing to comply with environmental laws. Among the closed installations are those of Shell, Firestone-Bridgestone, Danone, and now Petrobras, among many others.
For more information:
Jorge Daniel Taillant - jdtaillant@cedha.org.ar
