Central America’s rivers have become open sewers
Many rivers in Central America, one of the regions in the world with the most abundant supplies of fresh water, are stinking sewers full of household and industrial waste, say activists.
The nations of Central America produce around 19,000 tons of solid and liquid waste every year, half of which goes untreated, and a high percentage of which ends up in the region’s rivers. Experts interviewed by IPS said the high levels of contamination severely reduced the availability of clean water, while favoring the spread of disease.
The nations of Central America have not invested in their waste treatment systems for 20 years, and “this has turned into a time bomb,” said Maureen Ballestero, the regional coordinator of the international non-governmental organization Global Water Partnership. She added that billions of dollars would have to be invested in sanitation and waste treatment systems to revert the situation. (IPS)

Bush factory farm rules challenged
Environmentalists have mounted a legal challenge to the Bush administration’s new rule to limit water pollution from the nation’s largest livestock operations. The administration’s rule violates the Clean Water Act, the plaintiffs contend, and gives the livestock industry free reign to discharge animal waste into the nation’s waters without fear of penalty or accountability. The rule “wholly fails to protect water quality,” said Barclay Rogers, Sierra Club associate attorney. The lawsuit was filed Mar. 7 by the Sierra Club, the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC), and the Waterkeeper Alliance in San Francisco’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Prior to the Bush administration’s rule, Rogers explained, these large factory farms, known as concentrated animal feeding operations, were not permitted to discharge any animal waste pollution. But under the administration’s rule they are “now expressly permitted to discharge waste into the environment,” Rogers said, and can do so based on permits that they are allowed to write themselves, without any government or public oversight. (ENS)

Central Americas’ suffocating cities
Breathing can be dangerous in certain parts of Central America’s big cities, especially in the Honduran capital, where the air is more contaminated by particulate matter than any urban area in the region.
The atmosphere in the political and economic centers of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica registers total suspended particulate (TSP) levels higher than the maximum accepted by the World Health Organization of 75 micrograms per cubic meter of air. This solid material is produced by the combustion of gasoline of other fuels, or comes from the dust of minerals or metals, paint pigments, pesticides, ash, and smoke.
Air pollution affects the health of more than 80 million Latin Americans, says the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), a United Nations regional agency. The harm is manifest in the generalized increased incidence of asthma and allergies, and even severe respiratory infections that can lead to death.
In 2001, Tegucigalpa reported an average concentration of 613 micrograms of TSP, according to Swisscontacts, an international aid foundation. (IPS)

Swiss firm defends pesticide, skeptics unconvinced
The Swiss-based multi-national Syngenta, the world’s largest agribusiness firm, is on a public relations offensive to erase the stigma associated with the herbicide paraquat, following Malaysia’s decision in August to phase out the hazardous substance.
Hosting journalists to a “media roundtable” last week, John McGullvray, general manager of the corporation’s Malaysian arm, addressed what he referred to as the “myths” surrounding paraquat, and extolled the supposed social, economic, and environmental benefits of the herbicide.
But a study released last year revealed a host of symptoms associated with exposure to paraquat, among them fatigue, vomiting, back pains, tight sensations in the chest and burning sensations in the vagina. The lungs can be irreversibly damaged, leading to pulmonary fibrosis and death. Fingers and toes can also become permanently disfigured from exposure to the poison, according to Romeo Quijano, a doctor and professor of pharmacology at the University of the Philippines.
Many of the workers who are regularly exposed to paraquat have little protective clothing, lack training, and have little knowledge of the hazardous effects of the products they use. Several European countries have also banned paraquat, and other Asian countries are taking note of Malaysia’s decision to phase it out. (IPS)

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