One of the barges was taken out of service because of recurring problems. Shell officials have a detailed emergency response plan on paper, but they do not have professional clean-up equipment such as skimmers, booms and buckets available. Nor does the company have any professional staff here to respond to emergencies. After the February spills, local people were pressed into emergency service, using makeshift equipment to mop up the mess. Contaminated soil was dug up and stored on site.
Workers say that when it rains, rainbow sheens run through the soil.
The local communities, which have never experienced these problems before, are not quite sure where to turn. In exchange for the two hectares of land for the first well in Armihuari, the company has promised the village of Cashiriari that it will supply electricity for three communal houses, as well as tin roofs and medicines. Tomas Vargas, the treasurer of the village who also runs the local health clinic, argues that the company representatives took advantage of the local community, which did not realize it could ask for any of those guarantees. Nuevo Mundo is receiving little more than Cashiriari. Shell arranged the Nuevo Mundo deal with Alquilino Rios, a local leader.