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See
Also:
AGUINDA V. TEXACO WEBSITE WWW.CHEVRONTOXICO.ORG
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ECUADOR
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Texaco polluted the rain forests and rivers in Ecuador and
Peru during oil exploitation activities in Ecuador between
1964 and 1992.
In particular, the indigenous
people allege that Texaco improperly dumped large quantities of
toxic by-products of the drilling process into the local rivers,
contrary to prevailing industry practice of pumping these
substances back into the emptied wells.
Below you will see:
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An oil worker
getting ready to suction the toxic waste water out of a pit so it
can be spread along the network of roads in the area. The practice
has the effect of dispersing the toxics across a wider area. In
the foreground, the dumping of toxic waste water continues.
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©Lou Dematteis
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This
picture was taken in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Preserve in the
Northeastern part of the region. Though this scene might look
natural, there is a layer of toxic sludge on the top of this
swampy water. Ecuadorans blame Texaco for the irresponsible
drilling practices that caused this pollution. As the first oil
company to drill in Ecuador, Texaco adopted sub-industry standards
that several other foreign oil companies, in an apparent effort to
save costs, were only too happy to emulate.
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©Lou Dematteis
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This
image is typical of the current state of many of the unlined waste
pits left in Ecuador by Texaco. When these pits fill up, their
toxic contents either overflow into the surrounding rainforest or
oil workers use a suction hose to put the toxic-laden sludge into
trucks. The trucks then spread the sludge over the dirt roads in
the region in an ostensible effort to keep the dust down. In
reality, this practice disperses the toxics over a wider area.
Many residents are forced to walk over the layer of sludge
barefoot. Others have had their farms damaged by runoff from the
roads.
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©Steven Donziger
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One
of the estimated 300 open cesspools that Texaco built in the
Ecuadoran Amazon to dump its raw crude and toxic waste water. In
the United States and every other territory where Texaco has
drilled for oil, it has re-injected these toxic substances into
the ground in order to avoid harm to the environment.
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©Lou
Dematteis
More
pipeline being laid.
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©Steven
Donziger
Another
of the toxic waste pits left behind by Texaco. |
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©Lou Dematteis
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A new round of pipeline
being laid in the Ecuadoran Amazon in an area near where Texaco
operated. The Ecuadoran government is anxious to develop its oil
reserves, which account for about half of government revenues |
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FAIR USE NOTICE:
This
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always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We
are making such material available in our efforts to advance
understanding of environmental, political, human rights,
economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.
We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted
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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on
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for research and educational purposes. For more information go
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If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for
purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.
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This
website is the creation of the Frente Para La Defensa De La Amazonía. It
is not a website of Texaco Inc. It is website that describes
the plight of the people of the rainforest caused by Texaco Inc.
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