The Blacksmith Institute has taken Haina off its list of the world’s most contaminated places, following the environmental work carried out on the site of the former MetaloXsa battery plant whose pollution was contributing towards Haina’s negative ranking.
The news was announced at a press conference yesterday, Monday 16 December by the Haina Industries and Business Association, the local authority and the Ministry of Environment where the letter from Blacksmith was read out.
In 2007, Paraiso de Dios, the former site of the battery factory was included on the list of the most polluted places in the world resulting from the serious lead contamination that was harming the health of the local population. Following work by the local authorities, the Ministry of the Environment and the Inter-American Development Bank, the area has been cleaned up and is now a park where children and adults can sit and play.
In their letter, Blacksmith says that it is the only place that was on the list that has been successfully converted into a safe area for local people.
www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2013/12/16/i415613_haina-los-mas-contaminados-del-planeta.html
www.blacksmithinstitute.org