In Chile's polluted 'sacrifice zones,' residents seek respite in new constitution

Energoaparatura SA

22/12/2020 12:00

By Natalia A. Ramos Miranda
    SANTIAGO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - When Chile voted in October to
scrap its constitution written during the dictatorship of
Augusto Pinochet, residents of the South American nation's
"sacrifice zones" were among the strongest supporters of change.
    In those five heavily industrialized areas, established 
from the 1950s to help drive Chile's economic development and
home to some 200,000 people, support for a new charter exceeded
90% in some cases compared to 78% nationwide. 
    Residents, activist groups and academics who have studied
pollution in these areas believe a new constitution could help
reduce emissions, shutter coal-fired power stations and improve
healthcare for those left sickened. 
    But there remains a long way to go: the body of 155
civilians who will draft the text will not be elected until
April and have up to a year to agree wording. Chile's
conservative government insists sweeping changes are unlikely as
each element of the text requires a two-thirds' majority and the
final text will require the approval of another referendum.  
    Nevertheless, after decades of largely fruitless court
battles and lobbying to curb pollution by mining and industry,
campaigners see constitutional change as an opportunity to put
environmental protection at the top of the national agenda.
    "It is a call to start forging a recovery zone and to leave
behind the stigma of being a 'sacrifice zone', with all the
vulnerability and poverty that implies," said Carolina Orellana,
a resident of the industralized town of Quintero in central
Chile and spokeswoman for the Women of the Sacrifice Zones
campaign group.
    Chile's current constitution was drafted in 1980 during a
free market revolution under Pinochet's 1973-1990 rule. 
    While it establishes "the right to live in an environment
free of pollution," all sides acknowledge priority has been
given to private enterprise, which enjoys strong legal
protection and has largely self-regulated.
    Health Minister Enrique Paris told Reuters a better balance
needed to be found between health and industrial development and
job creation. The new constitution help would "clarify" the
situation, he said. 
    However, as Chile battles to revive an economy stricken by
the coronavirus, many citizens and business leaders say
safeguarding jobs and productive industries is critical. 
    Fitch ratings agency said Chile's constitutional transition
could stall investment, citing possible changes to environmental
policies and stricter company regulation.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2HH1K3
    In Huasco, a sacrifice zone in northern Chile that is home
to mining and power plants, some residents are concerned that
existing plans to close coal-fired thermoelectric facilities by
2040 could be brought forward if an opposition bill before
parliament is approved. 
    "These companies caused a lot of damage but we see now that
we are going to be out of work," said Daniel Diaz, a longtime
environmental activist who sits on Huasco's municipal council.
        
    OUT WITH THE OLD 
    The health risks of sacrifice zones were highlighted in
mid-2018 when hundreds of people were hospitalized in the
Quintero-Puchuncavi area for symptoms that health authorities
said were caused by toxic gas leaks. 
    The towns are home to 15 heavy industries in a four
square-mile radius, including copper smelting and refinery
operations run by state miner Codelco, an oil terminal run by
state energy firm ENAP, and a thermoelectric plant operated by
private firm AES Gener. 
    Codelco and AES Gener declined to comment.
    Chile's Supreme Court last year ruled the government was
ultimately responsible for contamination in the area.
Environment minister Carolina Schmidt in January said
strengthened emissions limits had reduced pollution alerts by
58% in less than a year and asked for forgiveness in Congress
for what families in sacrifice zones have endured. 
    "People living in these areas have been exposed to
pollution," she said. "They don't trust the state and they are
right."  
    Chile's environmental regulator blamed ENAP for the 2018
incident, though a court is yet to rule. ENAP denies any
responsibility. 
    The company told Reuters it would respect any changes under
a new constitution in addition to implementing its own $350
million environmental plan.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2GL27G
    The environment ministry declined to comment. 
    Chile's former environment minister Marcelo Mena-Carrasco
said the need to slow the impact of climate change would have to
be reflected in the future charter. 
    These would include rebalancing residents' and businesses'
access to water in the drought-hit nation and safeguarding
Chile's glaciers, an important barometer of climate change, he
said.  
    Research led by Sandra Cortes, from the Public Health
Department of Chile's Catholic University, found the risks of
dying from cerebrovascular diseases and lung cancers among
residents of Huasco and Tocopilla - sacrifice zones near
northern Chile's mining regions - were several times higher than
the national average. 
    A new constitution must guarantee universal healthcare to
help residents who at present rely on overcrowded and patchy
services, she said.
    Claudia Fuentes, head of decarbonization projects for NGO
Sustainable Chile, said tackling pollution required sweeping
regulatory change, beyond the constitutional reform.
    Chile's 30-year-old environmental framework ignored
pollutants such as arsenic or volatile organic compounds, both
substances found by government investigators to be at elevated
levels in Quintero-Puchuncavi. 
    "That means that pollution does not officially exist, so you
can't complain about it or demand action," she said. 

 (Reporting by Natalia Ramos, writing by Aislinn Laing
Editing by Tom Brown, Dan Flynn and Alistair Bell)
 ((Aislinn.Laing@thomsonreuters.com; +56 223704250;))