Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Matanza Riachuelo River Pollution in Southern Buenos Aires

River Riachuelo Polluted with Industrial Waste in La Boca Buenos Aires, Argentina
Believe it or not, this is a river in Buenos Aires, the Matanza Riachuelo River in the neighborhood of La Boca! "El Riachuelo" is a rather small river that carries huge problems. It originates in the Province of Buenos Aires until it eventually flows into the Río de la Plata estuary. In March the Spanish newspaper "El Mundo" has designated this watercourse as the most polluted river in South America. Crippling poison is your friend! There is probably no chemical you won't find in here: From nitrates, mercury, hexachlorocyclohexane (Lindan), chlorobenzene to tetrachloromethane and bromodichloromethane. It is such a dangerous and stinky mess!!! After a debate about the cleansing of the river that was ongoing for more than 17 years it was announced yesterday that the world bank has finally granted a long awaited loan of US$840 million to Argentina to clean up the Riachuelo. Let's hope that this indispensable step is not further delayed.

11 comments:

EG CameraGirl said...

EW! Most polluted is a distinction I'm sure Buenos Aires is NOT proud of. Hope someone cleans it up soon!

Clueless in Boston said...

I guess every city has its dirty little parts.

Lowell said...

It can be cleaned up. Not too many years ago it was said you could develop film in Lake Erie...but today, that's all changed.

Good luck. It's an ongoing problem due to the lack of our politicians to enact decent laws and enforce them.

That is the chicken said...

Oooh! I thought I had seen polluted rivers in India back in the 1980's but this is something else! But...if they can get fish back in the river Thames in London they can do it for the Riachuelo!

Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.com said...

yikes! A good photo to remind people about pollution and earth day, which is needed everyday. I am glad you enjoyed the barrel cactus with the pineapple fruit on my site.

Buenos Aires Photoblog said...

There are more than 5 million people who must live in the Riachuelo Basin. It is a huge disaster. 75% of the inhabitants of that area suffer from diseases related to pollution, ranging from neurological disorders, cancer, to methemoglobinemia, and many, many more.

B SQUARED said...

Christ would have to trouble walking in that water. What a travesty.

Frank said...

So, so sad that we allow our waterways to become so polluted from our own actions. Thank you for sharing this horrible situation.

AB said...

Matanza seems like the correct word for such a poisonous river. And accroding to this video from Clarin, the air is toxic too.

Buenos Aires Photoblog said...

@AB
Thanks for posting the video link!

It is really important to give attention to the situation in the Riachuelo/Matanza area. Showing awful pictures of the pollution is at least something we can do about it...

Layrayski said...

Kudos for having the guts to post this picture. I couldn't in my case. It makes me too depressed. Good luck on the efforts of cleaning the river!