It can be considered one of the most unequal battles in the world today. It pits a group of indigenous people in Ecuador, almost totally devoid of material resources, against one of the most powerful oil corporations in the world.
From 1964 to 1992, Texaco (which later merged with Chevron and now is called Chevron-Texaco) carried oil exploration and exploitation activities in the Ecuador area of the Amazon. However, drilling for oil without adequate safeguards is one of the most destructive industrial activities both for people and for the environment. This danger has been particularly stark in the case of these activities conducted in the forested areas of the Amazon basin.
Accused of polluting significant portions of the Amazon region, Chevron-Texaco is now facing a multibillion-dollar law suit. The outcome of this battle –expected before the end of this year- may demonstrate how far U.S.-based and other multinational companies can be held accountable for their deeds.
Drilling for oil produces several substances and waste products, which are stored in special pits. If these pits are not properly lined, toxic materials can contaminate surrounding areas. Once toxic waste leaks into water basins, rivers and lakes, it kills fish and makes people and livestock ill, at times threatening their very survival.
Oil activities conducted by Chevron-Texaco in the northeast Amazon region in Ecuador have caused significant environmental damage and serious health consequences for the indigenous population. Chevron-Texaco spilled more than 70 billion liters of toxic waste into 900 unlined pits in an area of more than 5,180 square kilometers. This toxic dumping has affected an indigenous community of 30,000 and has led to the loss of 1 million hectares of rain forest. Experts believe this is the worst oil-related contamination on the planet.
The health damage incurred by the indigenous population has been documented in the village of San Carlos, which contains more than 30 oil wells constructed by Chevron-Texaco. One of the first studies on the effects of oil pollution on people’s health in that village was carried out by two medical doctors in collaboration with the University of London’s Department of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The study, called the “Yana Curi” report (yana curi is the local indigenous term for “oil” or “black gold”), found that cancer rates in San Carlos exceed the average by up to 30 times.
For several years the residents of San Carlos had been exposed to more than 3.8 million liters of oil and toxic waste-water dumped by Chevron-Texaco. Exposure occurred through several routes, including absorption through the skin, ingestion of contaminated food and water, and inhalation of oil and related gases.
Additional evidence on the health effects provoked by improper oil-exploitation techniques was provided by Richard Cabrera, an expert appointed by the court. After reviewing all the data in evidence and several health studies Cabrera, along with a team of 14 technical officials concluded that 1,401 excess cancer deaths in the region were due to oil contamination.
It is estimated that the water used by local residents for drinking, bathing and laundering contains nearly 150 times the amounts considered safe for substances such as hydrocarbons. The study also found the risk of cancer of the stomach, liver, bile duct and skin for those living in San Carlos was more than double the average. Chevron-Texaco claims that these results were only preliminary and not worth analyzing.
Chevron-Texaco has used inadequate extraction techniques, in the process spilling waste products into creeks and rivers rather than pumping it back into the ground as is commonly done elsewhere. Because of pipe breakages, the amount of crude pumped into the ground was nearly double the volume spilled into Alaska’s Prince William Sound by the Exxon Valdez in 1989.
In November of 1993, a class-action lawsuit on behalf of residents of the rain forest area known as Oriente was launched in a U.S. District Court in New York, close to Chevron-Texaco’s world headquarters in Westchester County. Although the plaintiffs wanted the case to be tried in New York, a federal appeals court in New York ruled that it should be conducted in Ecuador. But in an important decision, the court also stated that any judgment against the oil company would be enforced in America. U.S. courts will also reassert jurisdiction if Chevron-Texaco refuses to cooperate with the litigation in Ecuador.
The suit charges that Chevron-Texaco dumped nearly 70 million liters of toxic waste into hundreds of unlined open pits, and from there it seeped into estuaries and rivers from 1964 to 1992, thus exposing residents to carcinogenic pollutants. The plaintiffs want a thorough cleanup of the area, an assessment of the long-term health effects of the contamination and damage compensation, which could total $ 27 billion.
If Chevron-Texaco is found liable in a fair trial, it will be not only a victory for the environmental movement but also for the thousands of indigenous people whose survival and quality of life have been affected by the careless exploitation of oil on their lands.
Cesar Chelala, M.D., Ph.D., is an international public-health consultant and an award winning writer on human rights issues. He is the foreign correspondent for the Middle East Times International (Australia).
Leave a Reply