Argentine Authorities Suspend Operations At 20 Companies Found to Be Polluting River

摘要

BUENOS AIRES—Authorities have temporarily shut down 20 electroplating companies that were polluting the Matanza-Riachuelo River. The action was part of a stepped-up effort to salvage Argentina's most polluted waterway, an official said Oct. 11. The companies were among 25 plating companies inspected Oct. 6. They were charged with a number of violations, including leaking hazardous effluents, having illegal duct connections, and lacking hazardous liquid and solid waste handling permits, a spokesman for the river basin authority (Acumar, after its Spanish initials) told BNA. The shutdown triggered a 30-day period for each company to present a so-called industrial modification program. If the plan is approved, which typically takes a few weeks to a couple of months, the companies may resume operations, said the spokesman, who asked not to be named. $6 Million Cleanup Under Way. The Matanza-Riachuelo, which marks the southern border of Buenos Aires City, has been the subject of a $6 billion Supreme Court-mandated cleanup since 2006. Acumar was set up under court orders to supervise the effort. Several major industrial plants have been moved away from the basin. The basin authority, which the Supreme Court has criticized in the past for inaction, has in recent months stepped up inspections and shutdowns. Some 280 companies were ordered to suspend operations in the year ending in August, compared with only 44 in the preceding 12-month period, the spokesman said. The 20 plating plants closed Oct. 6 were mostly small companies.