Tannery blamed for pollution in Paraguay
24/04/2008
A business owner has complained to the authorities in Paraguay that his sesame seed exports operation is under threat from water pollution caused, he says, by a tannery.
Sebastián Eyzaguirre, owner of a company called Semillas Kamurgo in Mariano Roque Alonso, an area of greater Asunción, wrote to the authorities to complain of foul-smelling water from the local river, the Itay. He said effluent from a tanning business called Cupar was to blame.
Inspectors from Paraguay's environment ministry demanded access to the tannery and released a press statement on April 24 saying they had found that the operation had no environmental performance certificate (a government requirement) and was running effluent through an uncovered channel straight into the river.
The owners of the Cupar tannery have been asked to stop producing leather until they complete the construction of a new waste treatment plant. They have pointed out that work on the new facility is under way.
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