Highlights: Chile's state-owned mining company Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, closed the Ventanas copper smelter on Wednesday (May 31st) For sixty years, it has released tons of toxic particles into the air of Quintero and Puchuncavi's. The two cities are the oldest of what Chileans call the "sacrifice zones", of which there are five (Quintero-Puchuncaví, Coronel, Mejillones, Tocopilla y Huasco)

The Chilean state-owned mining company Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, closed on Wednesday (May 31st) a smelter whose highly polluting emissions, together with those of others...

'Sacrifice zones': closure of a highly polluting Codelco smelter in Chile

Chile's state-owned mining company Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, on Wednesday (May 31st) shut down a smelter whose highly polluting emissions, together with those of other industries, constituted one of the country's "sacrifice zones".

Chile: June 2022 file photo of the Ventanas smelter of the Codelco, in the Bay of Quintero and Puchuncavi, one of the country's sacrifice zones, in the 5th region. REUTERS - RODRIGO GARRIDO

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Chile's state-owned mining company Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, closed the Ventanas copper smelter on Wednesday (May 31st). For sixty years, it has released tons of toxic particles into the air of Quintero and Puchuncavi's fuck. The Ventanas foundry, owned by the State at the time of its inauguration in 1964, was bought in 2005 by the Codelco Group.

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"Sacrifice zones"

These two cities of Quintero and Puchuncavi, located in an industrial bay of 50,000 inhabitants, 140 kilometers west of Santiago, are the oldest of what Chileans call the "sacrifice zones", of which there are five (Quintero-Puchuncaví, Coronel, Mejillones, Tocopilla y Huasco). Industrial regions that developed in the sixties and where thermal, oil and chemical industries in particular are established.

Pollution as a source of public health problems

On Wednesday, the operations manager of the Codelco group's foundry, Pablo Bohler, gave the order "to permanently stop the converter of the foundry", during a ceremony. "We have been fighting for this for years," Sabina Vergara, a teacher, told AFP on the sidelines of a demonstration that brought together a hundred people near the foundry. "Many children are sick, the elderly no longer leave their homes," she said. The day before the closure, a hundred students suffered from respiratory poisoning.

Por fin después de 58 años envenenando población de Quintero, Puchuncaví y toda la V Región Chimenea principal de Fundición Codelco Ventanas dejó de emitir Azufre, Arsénico y otros contaminantes. pic.twitter.com/aZgVgpdEvJ

— Dunas de Ritoque (@DunasdeRitoque) May 31, 2023 A recurring health problem in this area. In addition to respiratory problems, their inhabitants have "cardiovascular diseases, high levels of infant mortality, unacceptable levels of childhood cancer and lower life expectancy," said David Boyd, UN special rapporteur on human rights and the environment.

Debido al aumento en las atenciones médicas, regirá el protocolo GEC del Plan de Prevención y Descontaminación Atmosférica en las comunas de Concón, Quintero y Puchuncaví, desde las 17:16 horas hasta las 22:16 horas del miércoles 31 de mayo. pic.twitter.com/NXerEG2RgN

— Delegación Presidencial Regional Valparaíso (@DPRValparaiso) May 31, 2023 "Today, the foundry furnaces are closing, but our determination to build a fairer Chile, where all inhabitants have the right to live in the best possible conditions remains intact," said Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who had called for the closure of Codelco Group's activities in this industrial zone. . Some of the smelter's 766 employees will be transferred to other sites, others will leave the company under an agreement with management.

'Sacrifice zones': closure of a highly polluting Codelco smelter in Chile

'Sacrifice zones': closure of a highly polluting Codelco smelter in Chile

"Sacrifice zones"

Pollution as a source of public health problems

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