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A FIRE tore through a portion of the Acerinox stainless-steel plant across Gibraltar’s bay early Thursday morning.
The fire started at 5.30am on a pickling line of the Los Barrios complex. It was visible from Gibraltar Rock and the Bay of Gibraltar.
Fire crews from Los Barrios, Algeciras and the Cadiz Fire Consortium with six vehicles and seven firefighters rushed on the scene to find that flames were already in place.
They worked with the factory’s emergency response team to control the incident.
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A worker treated on-site for smoke inhalation was released shortly thereafter.
Acerinox clarified later that the fire only affected a small part of Acerinox’s production line.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
The incident comes just months after locals complained of a sinister orange gas cloud belched out over the bay by the same plant, part of what insiders described to the Olive Press as a ‘suspiciously frequent’ pattern of toxic discharges.
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Environmental groups and ex-employees have claimed that the plant’s filtration system is outdated or malfunctioning. They claim that fumes with nitric acids fluoride, and other harmful chemicals are routinely released into the atmosphere.
Residents of nearby towns like Palmones and Guadarranque as well as Gibraltar campaigners have blamed this complex for the elevated rates of cancer, asthma, and bronchitis in the Campo.
“The Campo de Gibraltar has the highest levels of cancer, bronchitis and asthma in all of Spain – we are top of the cancer list,” local resident Paco Cervantes, 66, told this newspaper in March, accusing the authorities of refusing to commission serious studies for fear of what they might find.
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Acerinox was the first integrated stainless-steel factory in the world. Built in 1970, it remains one of the biggest employers for the region. Directly providing thousands of jobs and indirectly supporting tens thousands more. However, critics claim that this employment came at a price.
The plant had previously been cited by the government for a number of serious safety lapses and pollution, including an incident in 2008 that involved a radioactive spill.
The campaigners claim that the company operates an open-air dump for slags and metal particles, which is blown across the bay according to the direction of the wind.
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Repeated denunciasEnvironmental authorities in Cadiz, and the Junta, have dismissed most complaints.
The campaigners say that air quality monitors routinely turn off at night when the majority of discharges happen.
Palmones resident said, “Pollution was a problem for as long I can remember. But many don’t want to acknowledge it, as the majority of the population works at the plant.” There’s dust and particles in the air – I find it on my windowsills.”
The Olive Press offers more Gibraltar News.
