environment

White liquid pollutes river

An unidentified white liquid polluting the Río Tapia may be coming from a paper factory nearby.

Last year, Anam fined Papelera Istmeña $8,000 for dumping wastewater into the Río Curundú.

Carlos Lemos/LA PRENSA

white water: A study of Río Tapia´s water quality showed contamination levels between normal and very high. In Monteria, near the Papelera Istmeña paper plant, water quality plunged to a level of 20 or 30 on a scale of 100. 1023068

Another chemical is being added to the already notoriously polluted waters of the Río Tapia. A white liquid has been spotted draining from pipes at the Papelera Istmeña S.A. and spilling into the river, which joins the Río Tocumen before emptying into the nearby bay.

Lizandro Arias, director of the Región Metropolitana de la Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (Anam), reported that authorities will have to inspect the area to determine the type of pollutant and its source.

Papelera Istmeña´s general manager Javier Miró offered no explanation for the white liquid, but said that his company, which manufactures a variety of paper products, has invested more than $2 million in wastewater treatment.

It would not be the first time that Papelera Istmeña has run afoul of Anam. Just last year, environmental authorities fined the company $8,000 for contaminating the Río Curundú. An investigation, which was conducted at the company´s La Loco headquarters, revealed that the paper plant´s "raw discharge" was being released into the river.

Miró said that the company had appealed Anam´s findings, which they considered a misrepresentation of their "willingness" to adopt a water treatment system. He explained that the plant´s wastewater was allowed to flow into the river because at the time there was no designated place to store it.

Anam´s water quality studies of the Río Tapia show contamination levels between normal and very high at various points along the river. In the Monteria neighborhood of Pedregal, where the white wastewater enters the river, the water quality index falls between 20 and 30 out of 100 total possible points.