Portal de Cartagena
www.portaldecartagena.com
The ecologists ask the administration if it has been reformed in depth of the External Emergency Plan of the Chemical Sector of the Valley of Escombreras to avoid or minimize these incidents and their possible consequences
Ecologistas en Acción is preparing two reports of this new accident at the Repsol factory in Escombreras, which has generated a toxic cloud that has affected the towns of Alumbres and La Unión, before the General Directorates of Energy and Industrial and Mining , and Environment.
In addition, they will demand clarification on whether the protection protocols for workers have been complied with, as well as whether the External Emergency Plan for the Chemical Sector of the Escombreras Valley has been adequately activated to avoid conditions affecting the population due to the advancement of the toxic cloud that advanced on the inhabited areas and nearby companies, since it seems that there has been no warning by acoustic signals, as it should be produced according to the protocol of said plan.
Testimony from neighbors and workers near the refinery accused the strong smell of sulfur and irritation of the respiratory tracts caused by the cloud, which together with the lack of information has generated a logical concern in nearby towns.
The environmental organization criticizes the repeated lack of diligence when dealing with this type of incident, and it seems that it is more important to try not to create alarm, rather than the very prevention of working people and the civilian population nearby.
The organization remembers that it has been denouncing for years that the protocols of warning to the population established in the External Emergency Plan of the Chemical Sector of the Escombreras Valley are not followed, at least in the most serious incidents that have occurred in the Repsol plant in recent years. .
Ecologists in Action requires the opening of an information file, to clarify the causes of this new incident and purify the responsibilities, both the accident itself and the way of proceeding of the company, especially in compliance with preventive protocols, both for the working people as for the nearby population.
In addition, they demand the urgent development of specific preventive measures in maintenance operations and in the general operation of the factory, so that these incidents and their consequences are avoided or minimized, since we have been chaining a series of incidents since 2015, with injured workers and affection to the population.
Precisely, Ecologists in Action held a protest in December 2015 at the plant of REPSOL in Escombreras for the treatment of tar sands [1] (fuel more polluting than conventional oil), to ask the authorities to renounce these polluting fossil fuels, and that the energy transition to renewable sources begins, with the aim of reducing polluting emissions and CO2 into the atmosphere.
Something urgent in a region that is going to suffer especially the effects of Climate Change.
To finish, the environmental organization demands that the administration identify the possible polluting emissions to the atmosphere of these incidents, and demands that an immediate in-depth review of the External Emergency Plan of the Chemical Sector of the Escombreras Valley be produced for a significant improvement. of prevention protocols and actions in case of emergencies, to avoid these episodes or similar incidents.
In addition, remember that for these types of plans to be effective, they must be known by all the actors involved: responsible for the administration, responsible for the emergency teams, responsible for the companies, workers and the population in general.
The protocols should also be refreshed periodically to said actors, if what is sought is an effective prevention.
Source: Ecologistas en Acción
Privacy policy
- Legal notice
- Cookies