In Patagonia, a polluted lagoon takes on a fuchsia pink hue

The Corfo Lagoon in Argentina has taken on a fuchsia pink hue as a result of chemical pollution.

AFP - DANIEL FELDMAN

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

A lagoon turns fuchsia pink from chemical residue in the province of Chubut, Argentinian Patagonia.

This unusual shade is due to chemicals dumped by fishing companies, much to the chagrin of local people.

And these images of the bright pink Corfo lagoon have become the symbol of the environmental drifts in this province.

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With our correspondent in Buenos Aires,

Théo Conscience

For years, fishing companies have been dumping residues of sodium sulphite, a preservative used for the storage of langoustines, near the town of Rawson.

Chemicals which have contaminated the water tables, and which generate nuisances for the inhabitants of the area, as Pablo Lada, a local environmental activist explains: " 

Here, there are residents who breathe these scents, who do not can no longer live with foul odors ... They are the ones who suffer the most.

"

Authorization from the provincial Ministry of the Environment

Exasperated, these residents decided a few weeks ago to block the road through which dozens of trucks filled with chemical residues pass every day.

It was at this point that the Ministry of Environment of Chubut Province provisionally allowed fishing companies to dump their waste into the Corfo Lagoon.

“

When we see this kind of thing, we realize that there is a lot of negligence,

denounces Pablo Lada

.

The Ministry of the Environment, which is in charge of controls, authorizes something that does not meet the standards.

There is an inability or perhaps even a lack of will to control

”

For their part, the authorities of the province minimize the problem, and explain that this pink tint that the lagoon has taken " 

does not cause damage

 ", and that it will soon disappear.

►Also read: In Argentina, record fine for companies guilty of environmental damage

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• Argentina

• Environment

• Pollution

• Water