From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america
Date: 14 Aug 92 09:59 PDT
Subject: IPS:Greenpeace Investigates
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1473800248:000:4781
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Aug 14 09:59:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: IPS:Greenpeace Investigates

/* Written 12:09 am  Aug 13, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: GUATEMALA: GREENPEACE INVESTIGATES DUMPING OF TOXIC WASTE


an inter press service feature

by george rodriguez

puerto quetzal, guatemala, aug 10 (ips) -- the international
environmental organization, ''greenpeace'' has announced that it
is investigating reports it has received that toxic waste is
being dumped in guatemala.

''we have received denunciations of two cases of dumping in
guatemala and we are investigating them,'' the head of
greenpeace's toxic waste campaign in central america, edwin
garzona, told ips monday on board the organization's flagship,
the ''rainbow warrior.''

radioactive material has been dumped in the province of peten,
in northern guatemala, while industrial waste has been deposited
in the northeastern part of the country , garzona told ips. he
gave no further details on the two cases.

greenpeace has found out that there are four projects for
importing toxic waste in guatemala although this is prohibited by
existing environment protection legislation here.

one of the projects involves the recycling of industrial,
household and livestock waste from the united states. the project
''was originally authorized by the ministry of economic
affairs,'' according to greenpeace.

under another project, which is ''still being negotiated,''
discarded tyres from the united states would be used to generate
electricity in guatemala.

the president of a congressional commission on the environment
in guatemala, arturo amiel, told ips that, while guatemalan law
''leaves no legal door'' open for the importation of toxic waste
into the central american country, ''money has proved powerful.''

''the danger is latent and there is too much money involved in
these affairs,'' amiel admitted, adding that the commission has
information on new attempts to introduce toxic waste into
guatemala.

the parliamentarian was referring to recent attempts to bribe
legislators to obtain exemptions from two environmental
protection and improvement laws, dating back to 1986, which
prohibit the importation of toxic waste for ''technical,
scientific and commercial purposes.''

amiel said the presence of the ''rainbow warrior'' in puerto
quetzal, a port located some 120 km southeast of the guatemalan
capital, was ''extremely important.'' (more)
----


the ship arrived here saturday within the framework of a
campaign to encourage the implementation of an agreement banning
the dumping of toxic waste in central american countries.

at a press conference sunday on board the vessel, marcie
mersky, director of greenpeace's central american bureau,
explained that the campaign includes the circulation of letters
to be sent to the sub-region's presidents with a view to
collecting ''thousands of signatures from central american
citizens.''

the letters highlight the need for the presidents to sign the
agreement at their summit in september in panama, she said.

garzona told reporters that ''central america has become a
favourite destination'' for exporters of waste. ''in 1987 we
documented eight proposals, while in the first eight months of
1992, we have registered another nine,'' he said.

according to mersky, greenpeace is also worried by the
transport of nuclear waste between japan, france and the united
kingdom through the panama canal.

about six ships transport this type of waste on as many routes
each year. since 1989, greenpeace has registered a total of 29
vessels used for this purpose, she said.

processing plants in france and the united kingdom extract
plutonium from japanese nuclear waste and then re-export it to
japan for use as fuel, mersky explained.

''we hope that the presidents of the isthmus also come out
against the shipment of plutonium and radioactive material in
general through the panama canal and the sub-region,'' the
greenpeace official said.

plutonium is a by-product obtained from the burning of uranium
in nuclear plants. it is considered the most dangerous element on
earth and takes an average of 24,000 years to lose its
radioactivity.

the ''rainbow warrior'' arrived here from el salvador, where
greenpeace conducted similar activities to those it plans to
stage in guatemala.

the ship's name is taken from a prophecy of the cree indians
in north america, which stated that all the world's races would
come together one day under the symbol of the rainbow to end the
destruction of the earth and that that would be ''the time of the
rainbow warriors.'' (end/ips/trd/so/gr-sfi/kb/92)
----