Agro, Business, Crime, Environment

Peru Ombudsman’s Office presses for sanctions against company illegally dumping waste water into shantytown’s irrigation overflow canal

Peru’s Ombudswoman, Beatriz Merino, is calling for immediate action to be taken against the Chalaco Corporation, a company which has been illegally dumping waste water into a shantytown’s irrigation overflow canal, exposing approximately 19,000 people to infectious and possibly contagious disease.

“According to a report — which was made public by the Callao Regional Health Office — the company is dumping its waste water into the canal without the required authorization,” said Dr. Luz Mejía, head of the Ombudsman’s Office in Lima’s Callao port.

The illegal dumping of waste water by the Chalaco Corporation, which is dedicated to the production of food products such as canned goods, has turned the irrigation overflow canal into a foul-smelling and potentially very dangerous source of water.

Approximately 19,000 people – residents of the Tiwinza shantytown located in Callao’s Ventanilla district – are now exposed to infectious and possibly contagious disease, reported Merino on her website.

Merino has called on Peru’s General Environmental Health Office, or DIGESA, to take immediate action.

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