Alcoa
facing growing concerns over proposed Trinidad Smelter
US Aluminum Giant Alcoa is facing massive
criticism over a proposed 340,000 metric ton smelter plant
in Cap De Ville in the Southwestern part of the Caribbean
Island of Trinidad. The country of Trinidad is one of
the most densely populated places on earth with 593 persons
per sq. mile and the Island already suffers from very
high in pollution levels due to ongoing industrialization.
The 2005 Yale/Columbia Environmental Sustainability
Index (ESI) showed Trinidad and Tobago as having the worst
percentage of negative land impacts of 146 countries,
yet Trinidad's government is continuing on a path toward
massive industrialization of the Southwestern part of
this Caribbean Island. Southwest Trinidad has so far been
spared from heavy industrialization and is the part of
the Island that has the longest and widest stretches of
beaches on the Island.
The Cedros peninsula, now earmarked for
the 1.5 billion dollar Alcoa smelter project also features
pristine rainforests and wetlands and is one of the larger
sources of drinking water on the Island. Actually, the
site of the proposed Alcoa smelter is right on top of
a major aquifer.
The proposed smelter plant, one of the
largest in the world is 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 Trinidad government seems determined
to let Alcoa go ahead with their project at all cost and
the hastily put together Environmental Clearance Applications
and Environmental Impact Assessments for the project have
sparked massive opposition from the local residents. 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 that are very unwilling
to move.
The Alcoa smelter project has been shrouded
in secrecy and while signings of major business agreements
are usually publicized in the local newspapers complete
with photo opportunities, the signing of the agreement
for the 1.5 billion dollar Alcoa smelter, publicised 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. A new application has just recently
been filed by Alcoa which contains similar omissions,
inaccuracies and misleading information.
"We are very worried about a company
that promises us an 'environmentally friendly' smelter,
yet is already lying about things like waste and pollution
before the smelter is even built. How can we trust them,"
warns the citizens group. 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.
The residents of Trinidad's Southwestern
Peninsula have called for a public debate on the Alcoa
smelter project but their calls have been completely ignored.
As mentioned in a recent Sun-Sentinel article, there are
serious concerns over the availability of Natural Gas
reserves for this mega project. Even members of Trinidad'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, environmental impact
is a major concern.
Alcoa's record in Trinidad is already
spotty. Alcoa operates a trans-shipment facility in the
northern part of the Island 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 US emissions standards
for residential areas at three monitoring sites in Carenage
on each of the five days of monitoring.
To make matters worse, 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. The land for this 2,000 acre estate has already
been cleared and hundreds of residents have been or will
be displaced by this project. Two aluminum smelters in
one of the smallest countries in the World. It's a recipe
for disaster and the citizens of Trinidad are fighting
a serious battle, not just with Alcoa but their own government
that supports and sponsors Alcoas plans, modeled on Iceland's
energy master plan which has also sparked major controversy,
protests and law suits. The citizens of the Trinidad's
Cedros Peninsula are hoping that once the facts of this
project are made known to the world community, Alcoa may
be swayed to look elsewhere to build their smelter.
Detailed
Information on Alcoa's Trinidad Smelter project can be
found on the world wide web at www.nosmeltertnt.com
