Cementos Selva, accused of polluting, denies charges

Cementos Selva, accused of polluting, denies charges
13 December 2004


District mayor Emiliano Pereyra in Peruvian department San Martín has accused cement maker Cementos Selva of pollution and is calling for an independent environmental audit on its local factory, government  newspaper  El Peruano reported. The audit would study the cement factory’s impact on ground, water and air  quality in the Elías Soplín Vargas district. Pereyra believes dust emitted  from the factory is causing bronchial sicknesses such as asthma in local residents.

But Cementos Selva denies the allegations, saying it has complied with Peruvian environmental laws and has independent medical analyses that show its plant causes no negative health effects, Selva’s assistant manager Roberto Llano told reporters. Selva has attempted to contact the mayor to discuss the matter and has invited lawmakers to visit the plant. It hopes to resolve the issue in part to advance a 15mn soles (US$4.6m) plan next year to double the plant’s capacity to roughly 100,000tpa. Peru’s Cementos Pacasmayo owns Selva.

Published under Cement News