April 27th, 1998
Madrid- WWF considers that the toxic spill produced by
the Swedish-owned conglomerate Boliden at the Donana
Natural Park is one of the worst environmental disasters ever
to happen in Europe. As a consequence, the Secretary
General of WWF/ADENA, Mr Juan Carlos del Olmo, is
asking for an urgent meeting of the Patron Board of the
Donana National Park, and is also requesting that the
government declares an environmental catastrophe in the
region, provides more coordination in relief efforts and also
that the State Attorney's office establish clear
responsibilities.
The moment the news of the spill was out, Mr. del Olmo
visited the area. His description of the situation there is
chilling: "Some 5 to 8 million cubic meters of toxic mud
spilled from the waste dumps of Aznalcoyar, on the heads of
the Guadiamar river. The Guadiamar has been blackened
for about 40 kilometers and to a width of some 200 meters in
each side. There have been massive deaths of fish and
invertebrates. We fear that these dead animals might be
eaten by others throughout the park and that the tragedy will
spread to an even larger area. The first thing to arrive was a
fast-flowing stream of very acid toxic water; it was followed by
a black and viscous length of acid mud loaded with
hydrocarbons and heavy metals. The consequences of this
environmental disaster are unmeasurable."
Containment plans had foreseen the possibility of directing
the flow to the Guadalquivir river, but the toxic mud has
moved with such strength that the containment walls have
been broken. The Natural Park has been terribly affected.
But not only that: the 'emergency' basin that has been
chosen to dump the mud on the Guadalquivir is in itself very
valuable. The best population Spain has of the purple
gallinule (a bird) lives there. This is not to count the loss in
biological diversity. In addition, the damage done to
agriculture is unmeasurable: enormous extensions of fields
have been covered by a thick toxic layer. "To make matters
worse -says Juan Carlos del Olmo- today we are expecting to
have one of the highest tides of the year. I fear that the high
waters will push the toxic waste further towards the park."
WWF/ADENA believes that the Industry and Environment
Council of the Andalusia government and the Guadalquivir
Hydrographic Confederacy (and thus the Ministry of the
Environment as well) are clearly at fault. Their responsibility
in this disaster is even greater since the risk situation has
been formally established since 1995. Yet, the legal action
that was to prevent this disaster was delayed because the
court handling the case is overloaded with work.
On top of that, it is unbelievable that the toxic lagoon that
spilled was actually inspected only a month ago.
WWF/ADENA warns that there are no adequate means to
fight against the disaster and, also, that there is not sufficient
coordination among the authorities of the Natural Park and
those of the National Park. The lack of basic understanding
has been made evident by the attitude of the Minister of the
Environment, whose sole concern was to prevent the waste
from reaching into the National Park and showed no
preoccupation whatsoever about the impact on the Natural
Park. WWF/ADENA cannot accept that the person that is
politically responsible for the Spanish environment does not
understand that political boundaries do not mean a thing in
this kind of environmental disaster and that the National Park
is indeed affected by everything that happens around it.
A group of experts from Sevilla visited the area to look at the
impact. They have described the flow of waste as "a length
of ph2 that kills all aquatic life." This description was
expressed however, before the second wave of even more
toxic muds arrived.
According to Juan Carlos del Olmo, "the losses will be
extraordinary and Donana will be affected for a long time.
Whatever remains of the toxic waste will be moved around
every time it rains and it is quite probable that the aquifer
has already been affected. All of this is going to force
authorities to change policies and management in Donana.
This is why I'm calling for an urgent meeting of the Patron
Board of Donana National Park, of which WWF/ADENA is a
member. We will have to set up colossal recuperation
tasks; an incredible amount of contaminated soil must be
removed and taken elsewhere. It is clear that the company
responsible must pay for the damages and restoration."
WWF/ADENA considers that this catastrophe provides a
good opportunity to begin an ambitious recovery programme
for the entire Guadiamar river, to reduce its levels of pollution
and recover the forests surrounding it, so that a real
ecological corridor can be built to prevent the slow
suffocation of Donana. This corridor would help besieged
species of the area like the Iberian Lynx to perhaps finally
make a recovery.
CONTACT:
Carlos Vallecillo,
+34 91 308 23 09 or 23 10.