Argentina: Lagoon Turns Pink After Companies Dumped Chemical Waste Used To Preserve Prawns In Water
Dozens of foreign fishing companies operate in the area in waters. Environmental engineer Federico Restrepo said the colouration was due to sodium sulfite in fish waste, which by law, should be treated before being dumped.
A lagoon in Argentina's southern Patagonia region has turned bright pink due to pollution caused by a chemical used to preserve prawns for export.
According to several experts and activists, this colour is caused by sodium sulfite, an anti-bacterial product used in fish factories, whose waste is blamed for contaminating the Chubut river that feeds the Corfo lagoon and other water sources in the region.
Several residents living nearby have complained of foul smells and other environmental issues.
A lagoon in Argentina's southern Patagonia region has turned bright pink in a striking, but frightful phenomenon experts and activists blame on pollution by a chemical used to preserve prawns for exporthttps://t.co/SYniaLhNdH pic.twitter.com/nBWEVzakLD
¡ª AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 26, 2021
Environmental activist Pablo Lada blamed the government for the mess and told AFP, "Those who should be in control are the ones who authorize the poisoning of people." According to him, the lagoon turned pink last week and remained the abnormal colour on Sunday.
Environmental engineer and virologist Federico Restrepo told AFP the colouration was due to sodium sulfite in fish waste, which by law, should be treated before being dumped. It is not used for recreation and receives runoff from the Trelew industrial park and has turned the colour of fuchsia before.
#Argentina | The Corfo Lagoon in Patagonia, has turned pink after waste from fishing companies was dumped in its waters, sparking alarm among local residents and authorities. pic.twitter.com/aayh76bJJc
¡ª teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) July 25, 2021
However, residents living nearby are quite fed up with this as well. Residents of Rawson, neighbouring Trelew, blocked roads used by trucks carrying processed fish waste through their streets to treatment plants on the city's outskirts.
With Rawson off-limits due to the protest, provincial authorities granted authorization for factories to dump their waste instead in the Corfo lagoon.
#Argentina ??? La contaminaci¨®n de una laguna con un l¨ªquido industrial que la ti?¨® de rosado intenso en la #Patagonia argentina (sur) provoc¨® alarma en los vecinos y pol¨¦micas entre funcionarios
¡ª Aroguden (@Aroguden) July 24, 2021
V¨ªa @AFPespanol #AFP
? https://t.co/2WHnlxJXCK pic.twitter.com/R45jdyeVbW
Dozens of foreign fishing companies operate in the area in waters under Argentina's Atlantic jurisdiction. Plants that process fish for export, mainly prawns and hake, generate thousands of jobs for Chubut province, home to some 600,000 people.
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