Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
THE sinister cloud of orange gas that the Acerinox steelworks belched out over the Bay of Gibraltar last week is something that’s ‘suspiciously frequent’, insiders claims.
A denuncia The Junta de Andalucia received a complaint alleging that the system used to filter the toxic fumes generated by the smelting operation is not working.
Sources connected with the plant told The Olive Press that this release was likely caused by a buildup of dangerous nitric fluoride in storage tanks.
A former employee said, “Everyone works in silence for fear of losing his or her job.”
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“More then half of the residents in the surrounding area either work for them or have family members who do, and they fear losing their jobs.”
Other residents have told the Olive Press the plant is ‘more polluting than ever’ amid claims the Spanish authorities turn a blind eye ‘out of fear scaring away the jobs’.
People in the neighbouring towns of Palmones and Guadarranque claim the previous Saturday’s discharge was just the latest in the Bay, home to hundreds of thousands of people – including 40,000 in Gibraltar – that has been going on for decades.
Local resident Paco C. Cervantes (66) told The Olive Press he had lost both his father and mother in law to cancer and, more recently, a neighbor.
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The retired port worker, who lives in Guadarranque, added: “The Campo de Gibraltar has the highest levels of cancer, bronchitis and asthma in all of Spain – we are top of the cancer list.
“Here people die of cancer. There is no direct correlation between the heavy industries and the cancer rate. This is why a study must be done. But the authorities won’t do it.”
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The heavy industry plant operates an ‘open air dump of slag and metal particulates which knowingly pollutes the air and, depending on which way the wind is blowing, causes havoc with nearby residents’, according to local environmental groups.
Acerinox is part of an expansive heavy industry zone, which occupies a corner of Gibraltar’s picturesque Bay. This includes the Cepsa oil refinery and the coal-fired Endesa energy plant.
These three plants directly employ over 3,000 people and indirectly provide over 10,000 jobs in an area that has historically struggled with unemployment.
The jobs, however, have come with a price in the form a shocking record of environmental damage that includes a radioactive leak from 2008.
Cervantes accused Spain’s authorities of complicity in refusing to enforce the regulations or conduct appropriate inspections for Acerinox.
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The local resident said, “They haven’t been following either Spanish or European environment directives for years.”
He said: “The Acerinox factory, built in the 1970s, hasn’t been updated in years, and they won’t invest in upgrading their processes. “The controls they have put in place are zero.”
Repeated denunciasBoth the environmental delegate of the Junta in Cadiz and the Campo de Gibraltar prosecutor’s office have refused to act or dismissed the complaints.
Cervantes claimed that there was no governing body looking into what happened at Acerinox.
He too believes that the authorities turn a blind eye to repeated violations because they are terrified of Acerinox moving the plant, leaving the struggling Campo de Gibraltar with ‘thousands of unemployed’.
He added that “the politicians support the petrochemical industry. There’s always some politician willing to stand behind it,” pointing out Pedro Sanchez’s appearance at the Cepsa factory in December 2022.
Meanwhile, local action group Verdemar Ecologistas en Accion claims air quality measurements are ‘turned off at night’ – when the majority of the noxious gases are released.
Acerinox, it says, fails to comply with regulations on dangerous substances. It also does not perform regular inspections. And it keeps dangerous particle in an open-air landfill.
Palmones residents told the Olive Press, “Pollution is a major problem in Palmones, and has been for many years. But most people in town are not willing to acknowledge it, as they work at the plant.”
Dust and particles are in the air. I see them on my window sills and during the summer, when I clean the floor.
Javier Martin Delgado 60, another local, told The Olive Press, “This area has one of the highest rates in Spain of throat cancer.” I’m surprised that we haven’t seen any children born with antennas sticking out of their heads.
Fernando, Javier’s 56-year old brother, also added: “We see black smoke all the time from the Cepsa facility, and it is getting worse.
Punta Mayorga is a great place to visit [on the other side of the industrial zone] You can take a big breath. “You’ll understand what we mean.”
Fernando said, “Look how beautiful this is, the Bay of Gibraltar, the river, and the beach are surrounded by mountains.”
“House prices should be through the roof – but people can’t sell their homes and get out fast enough. It’s a real shame.
La Linea real estate agent Mas Q Menos confirmed it: “The region has always been ‘mistreated’ by the heavy industry and, because of the Acerinox gases issue, perhaps they have lowered the prices a little more.”
Acerinox failed to respond to requests for comments.
