People living next to Firestone Natural Rubber Company’s plantation in Harbel, 45km outside of Liberia’s capital Monrovia, say pollution from the concession is destroying their health, ruining their livelihoods and even killing residents.
On 4 June parliamentarians called on the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to declare why the agency has not yet published the results of a 22 May EPA investigation into the allegations.
[...] Residents of the town of Kpanyarh, just next to Firestone’s rubber plantation in Harbel, say the creek from which they fish and drink their water in the dry season has been contaminated with toxins.
“We used to fish and drink the water,” 67-year-old Kpanyarh resident John Powell told IRIN on a visit to the creek which runs just outside the town. He said the water became toxic in October 2008. “We can’t drink it any longer. Some of our people have already died from this. We have drawn Firestone’s attention to our plight but they have ignored it.”
Residents are falling ill with diarrhoea after drinking at the site, and at least three have died as a result of drinking the polluted water since it first emitted toxins in October 2008, Powell said.
[...] In a 3 June statement sent to IRIN Firestone Rubber said: “Firestone Liberia is committed to protecting the health and welfare of our employees, neighbours and fellow citizens of Liberia…That commitment includes our treatment of the water used in our plant.”
The operations includes a multi-million-dollar water treatment facility which was developed in collaboration with Robert Knight, a wetlands expert, according to the statement provided by Rufus Kormoh, Firestone’s Liberia spokesperson.
Since the facility was set up tests have confirmed water quality is “excellent”, it says.
Source: IRIN, 04 Jun 2009
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