Alcoa project raises environmental concerns: South FloridaSun-Sentinel

Alcoa project raises environmental concern

In her Feburary 26th article about the economy of Trinidad, business writer Doreen Hemlock refers to the development of new industrial parks, including investment by U.S. aluminum giant Alcoa. Alcoa is facing massive criticism over its proposed 340,000-metric ton smelter plant in Cap De Ville, in the southwestern part of the Trinidad & Tobago. With 593 persons per square mile, Trinidad already suffers from very high
pollution levels due to ongoing industrialization. The 2005 Yale/Columbian Environmental Sustainability Index showed Trinidad and Tobago as having the worst percentage of negative land impacts of 146 countries, yet Trinidad & Tobago's government is continuing on a path toward massive
industrialization of the southwestern part of the island, which so far has been spared heavy industrialization and has the longest and widest stretches of beach.

The Cedros peninsula, now earmarked for the $1.5 billion Alcoa smelter project, also features pristine rainforests and wetlands and is one of the larger sources of drinking water on the island. The proposed Alcoa site is right on top of a major aquifer. It is also scheduled to be located within a mile or less of the towns of Cap-de-Ville and Point Fortin, home to over 15,000 residents. The residents of the until-now sleepy and peaceful peninsula are uniting and organizing protests on a regional and international level. The map of the proposed Alcoa site shows that the properties of over 200 residents may be taken over by the State for this venture, displacing residents who are very unwilling to move. The Alcoa smelter project has been shrouded in secrecy and the signing of the agreement, publicized by Alcoa worldwide, was done quietly and the local press was not even invited. The citizens group Cedros Peninsula United, managed to obtain a copy of Alcoa's application of Environmental Clearance, which was jointly signed by Alcoa and the Government's Energy Corporation - which Alcoa also tried to keep secret - and found it full of omissions, inaccuracies and outright false statements. The local press totally ignored the findings in Alcoa's environmental clearance application, but had no problem accepting three page ads by Alcoa promoting their smelter project. Money rules in Trinidad. The residents of Trinidad & Tobago's southwestern peninsula have called for a public debate on the Alcoa smelter project, but their calls have been completely ignored.

The Trinidad & Tobago Government seems determined to let Alcoa go ahead with its project at all cost. As mentioned in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, there are serious concerns over the availability of natural gas reserves for this mega project. Even members of Trinidad & Tobago's Parliament were left in the dark when inquiring about the state of gas reserves in the country. To this date, Alcoa has also not answered any questions regarding the disposal of the tons of hazardous waste the facility will produce. On an island that small, this is definitely a major concern. Alcoa's record in Trinidad is already spotty. They have a trans-shipment facility in Carenage and have been under fire from citizens there for many years. A 1989 air-monitoring report by Cariri, commissioned by a Carenage citizens group, showed Alcoa exceeded U.S. emissions standards for residential areas at three monitoring sites in Carenage on each of the five days of monitoring. The Trinidad government has also recently signed an agreement for a second aluminum smelter, not more than 8 miles away from the planned Alcoa smelter.

Two aluminum smelters in one of the smallest countries in the world! It's a recipe for disaster. The citizens of Trinidad & Tobago are fighting a serious battle, not just with Alcoa but with their own Government that supports and sponsors Alcoa's plans. The citizens of Trinidad 7 Tobago's Cedros Peninsula are hoping that once the facts of this project are made known to the world community, that Alcoa may be swayed to look elsewhere to build its smelter.

Dr. Raphael Sebastien is President of the citizen's group Cedros Peninsula United in Trinidad.

By Dr. Raphael Sebastien