Amazon peoples take Texaco to court
By Penny Saunders
QUITO — Representatives of several groups of indigenous peoples from the Ecuadorian Amazon region left for New York on November 3 to begin court action against the US oil company Texaco.
The indigenous people are accusing Texaco of negligent and deliberately irresponsible actions which have resulted in environmental contamination of the jungle in the east of Ecuador, the zone commonly known as the Oriente.
The indigenous groups are asking for US$1.5 billion in compensation for the environmental destruction caused by Texaco in its more than 20 years of operation in the Oriente. The case, if accepted by the US courts, will be likely to centre on whether Texaco has allowed unacceptable levels of toxic by-products in the areas of its operations.
The indigenous people claim that Texaco has used inferior technology in its operations in Ecuador, and that this has resulted in high levels of toxic wastes being pumped into waterways, the creation of pools of contaminated waste, destruction of forests and danger to the health of both indigenous and mestizo populations living in the Oriente.
Numerous studies by environmental and indigenous people's organisations indicate that Texaco has contaminated the Amazonian environment. Researcher Judith Kimerling in conjunction with the indigenous people's group FCUNAE (Federacion de Nacionalidades Indigenas de la Amazonia Ecuatoriana), published a detailed report of oil companies' activities in 1990, which found that toxic wastes dumped by Texaco had had far reaching public health consequences.
Indigenous and mestizo groups reported high incidences of skin disease from bathing in contaminated water, as well as respiratory diseases, cancers and birth defects attributed to exposure to chemicals.
More recently, preliminary results from tests in the US of soil and water samples taken from zones where Texaco has operated have revealed amounts of hydrocarbons and other contaminants which exceed the levels set by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
It is expected that it will take up to six months for the US courts to decide if the indigenous people can bring a case against Texaco.