16 Mar 2006
Plaintiffs Lawyers Refuse to Test Water for Bacterial Contamination at Lago Agrio 11-A
Nueva Loja, Ecuador, March 16, 2006 - Yesterday, during the Judicial Inspection of the Lago Agrio 11-A well site, plaintiffs' lawyers in the lawsuit filed against Chevron refused to conduct tests to determine if water used by people living nearby is contaminated with bacteria. Chevron's legal team requested that several water sources used by people who live near the well be tested for both bacteria and petroleum hydrocarbons.
Adolfo Callejas, Chevron's counsel, stated "according to the analytic results of over 30 inspections, 96% of the water wells actually used, are contaminated with bacteria which severely affects the health of the residents in [those areas]," a scientific fact which the plaintiffs have refused to acknowledge. Laboratory results of numerous judicial inspections, as well as the first report presented by the Court's experts, have proven water sources at sites remediated by Texaco Petroleum Co. do not pose any hydrocarbon-related health risk for people, but many are contaminated with bacteria.
As ordered by the Ecuadorian Government and Petroecuador, the Lago Agrio 11-A well site was not included within Texaco's Environmental Remediation Program. Petroecuador has operated this well for more than 15 years and has been the sole owner since 1992. There are several houses built by colonos in the surrounding area, but no sewerage or waste disposal systems exist. Accumulated garbage has obstructed natural drainage in swamps located near the well's platform, affecting environmental conditions at the site.
Petroecuador's responsibility for the environmental condition of the site was clearly evident during the inspection. Fresh oil spills were present and several satellite images presented by Chevron's legal team clearly showed that the area was used after 1990 for the processing of crude oil into asphalt and also as a deposit for waste from other oil industry operations.
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