island sickened by shell's toxic
legacy
friends of the earth
curaçao
Curaçao is a small island in the
Caribbean , with kilometers of coral reefs,
sandy beaches, and semi-arid landscapes in
the interior. Thanks to Royal Dutch Shell,
Curaçao also has a toxic legacy that has
plagued the island's people and environment
for close to a century
© foe
curaçao
In 1918, Shell began construction of an
oil refinery on Curaçao, which lies just 90
kilometers off the coast of Venezuela . As
Curaçao was a Dutch colony, this was a
profitable arrangement for both the oil
giant and the Dutch government. Venezuelan
oil could be refined close to Venezuela but
on Dutch territory, which was good for
Shell's profits and did not risk giving the
Venezuelans the means of refining their own
oil.
In 1953, a year before Curaçao acquired
autonomous status within the Dutch Kingdom
, the colonial government exempted Shell
from all environmental obligations. The
newly acquired autonomy was thus largely
powerless against the biggest employer and
polluter on the island.
In 1985, Shell abandoned the refinery.
Before leaving, and following consultation
with the Dutch government, the company
secured a declaration of immunity from the
government of Curaçao. The declaration
stated that Shell would not be held liable
for any environmental damage that its
activities had inflicted on the island over
the 70-year period of its operations. In
return for this immunity, Shell sold the
refinery to a government agency for less
then US$1, a deal that both parties
portrayed to the public as a win-win
situation that would boost local
employment. The government then leased the
refinery to the Venezuelan state oil
company, PdVSA, for a modest fee.
locals cheated out of their
health
The operations of the oil refinery have
caused serious health and environmental
problems, including premature deaths,
cancers, birth defects, asthma, respiratory
disorders, skin diseases and childhood
illnesses. In 1983, a visiting Dutch agency
concluded that: “Concentrations of
pollutants on Curaçao are approximately
four times higher than maximum
concentrations accepted anywhere else in
the world. This implies that irreparable
damage is being inflicted to the health of
human beings that inhale the chemical,
organic and toxic pollutants emitted by
Shell.” (DCMR, 1983).
Amigu di Tera/Friends of the Earth
Curaçao and the affected communities
organized huge protest demonstrations on
World Environment Day in 1988, 1989 and
1990. This resulted in a new environmental
law, the first since autonomy, but the law
is weak. Although the refinery was required
to obtain an environmental permit for the
first time in history, the permit is lax
and open-ended. The refinery is not
required to make environmental
improvements, and the law stipulates that
the government must pay half of the costs
of future environmental measures. As the
government is broke, this means more health
victims and more environmental degradation
every day.
Shell gave a very bad deal to the 150,000
inhabitants of Curaçao, and Friends of the
Earth, NGOs including the Humane Care
Foundation, and local communities plan to
hold the company liable. They are calling
upon Shell to clean up the areas affected
by its activities, to compensate the oil
workers and communities whose health has
suffered, and to compensate for property
damage. In the meantime, they want the new
operator to immediately and drastically
reduce the pollution that it generates and
provide compensation for its part of the
environmental damage. For this the Friends
of the Earth Curaçao founders received
royal
honours
more information:
Behind the Shine: The Other Shell Report
2003,
www.foei.org/publications/corporates/shellshine.html
